Recent Statistics

There have been new indications that shed some light on what we may expect for a spring market in residential real estate.  It's been a brutal winter, but the February job numbers, which just came out, were not as bad as they might have been, and put Connecticut at 50% of its jobs regained from the lowest recessionary level.  This, of course, compares with 92% of jobs regained nationwide, after awful weather everywhere, but we welcome any good news.

Other recent studies predict that the Northeast is the likeliest region to see multiple bids on property this spring, suggesting that demand has been postponed due to winter storms, and will "pop" when spring arrives (will it ever come??).  Rates are edging up, which is another indication that time is of the essence for buyers, since monthly payments matter more than total cost for most people.

Another report from Zillow suggests that the West Coast is best for sellers, and the East Coast for buyers.  That's not surprising, since prices in Connecticut are still 23% below their peak in June of 2006.  It is yet another indication that our region will see strong buyer demand.  Since the listing inventory is delayed, again by weather, supply may be tight.

In our office, we've been getting reports of greatly increased web traffic to our site, with strong demand for certain types of searches by buyers.  Again, that would seem to indicate pent-up demand.

My crystal ball is a little cloudy, but my outlook, based on all of the above, is positive!

Good News/Bad News

Within the last week, there have been many reports that have indicated that the recovery is far from over.  Unemployment nationally is still at 7.7%;  in Connecticut, it's 8.8%.  Jobs are being added, but at a faster rate in other states.  We added 300 jobs in November, but have only added back 25% of the jobs we lost during the recession; for the country as a whole, that percentage is more than double.

Then, this week, it was announced that New Haven was the number 1 buyers' market in the country, meaning that buyers can get a better deal here than anywhere else, because prices haven't risen.  There are reasons for that, though, that are far from negative.  We had a lower decline than in many other parts of the country, and we haven't seen the amount of foreclosure activity that has taken place in other states.  Therefore, our prices haven't gone down as much, and aren't then being pushed up as much now, because we still have a supply of properties on the market that exceeds what is available elsewhere.

So why is that good news?  Because Pearce had a great year anyway, and it means that the future is bright indeed!  With just a little bit of what is happening in other states, our revenues were up by a third over 2011. Some of that doubtless reflects an increase in market share, but it still bodes well for next year.  As the recovery pace, which is 46th here among the 50 states, increases, we will see further gains, price increases, and lower inventory.  All of that will be terrific, and that's before we factor in that we are finally doing something about job growth in the state, which will make it even better.

The message:  Buy now.  It will cost you more soon.  Give someone you love a property for the holidays!