This past week our listings saw an average of less than one showing each.   There is no doubt that showing activity has slowed considerably in recent weeks.   But despite the declined trends, the broader economy does not seem to be showing any real negative signs right now.   If anything it the economy seems to be heading in the right direction, albeit very slowly.

Last week we published our monthly E-Newsletter  and we reported the real estate stats for June 2010.   Below is a quick summary of the data when comparing June this year to the same period last year.  

Home sales were up 32%

Average sales price was up 3.9%

Average time on market is unchanged.

Pending home sales are down 10.2%

Supply is down 18.2%

Mortgage rates  were down to 4.74% from 5.42%

Keep in mind that the tax credit sales needed to close by June 30 to qualify.   Although that deadline has since been extended, most contracts written before the April 30 deadline included closing dates of June 30 or sooner.   So the 32% increase in home sales over last year is probably inflated because of the tax credit surge.   The numbers for July  2010 will likely be down because contract numbers started to fall right after the tax credit contract expiration date.   As of this writing, the home sales reported are only up to 528 for July 2010 although many sales happen at month end and probably have not yet been reported.

The average time on market is unchanged but this is actually a good thing because up until this month that indicator had been showing increased time on market.   Last year, days on market was trending upwards and now it is on the downswing.   If the trend continues, we should begin to see that days on market drop below last years levels.   The same can be said about housing supply, which means that more homes have come off the market than those that have come on the market.

The only really discouraging figure is the pending home sales which shows that sales are likely to drop considerably in the coming months.   This should come as no surprise if you have been following my blog for the last few months.   There was a peak in home sales due to both the season and the expiration of the tax credit.   The tax credit is expired and we are heading out of the busy season so a valley is the natural result.