Over the past two weeks our listings saw an average of 1.3 showings each.   This is less traffic than we’ve been seeing, however being a holiday period, it comes as no surprise.   The week before and after the Fourth of July is typically a vacation time for many and when its over there is usually an increase in real estate activity.   It will be interesting to see if that trend continues in 2008.

The most notable news affecting the real estate market over the past two weeks  comes from the changes to the stock market and financial industries.   The Dow Jones Industrial average is down almost 10% in just over two weeks due to numerous factors, oil prices and the mortgage situation among the key contributors.   The index fell below 11,000 on Friday briefly which was the lowest its been in over two years.   Apparently, a 20% drop below market highs constitutes a ‘bear’ market which the Dow has hit.   In the past, real estate has been a safe place for investors to  park their money as stocks drop.

The National Association of Realtors’ chief economist, Dr. Lawrence Yun, still predicts that housing will slowly begin to recover in the second half of 2008.   Well, we are now in the second half of 2008 so it won’t be long before we determine whether or not his predictions are true.   I certainly hope they are.   In the meantime, aggressive pricing is still the key to selling in this market.  

This week we’ll be publishing  the local  Charlotte Market Data in our monthly E-Newsletter.   I, for one, am excited to see what direction our local market is heading based on the facts.   Be on the lookout for that in the next few days!