This week our listings saw 3.9 showings each on average.   This is a huge increase in traffic over the past few weeks of January where we’ve been seeing about 2 showings each.   The market does seem to be picking up some momentum as the weather improves and we head into spring.   Our monthly E-Newsletter is ready and this month we have published the Mecklenburg County stats for January 2008.   Here is a summary of the data:

1)   The number of Mecklenburg County single family home sales hit a low  of 727 in January;  a 34% decrease over the same period last year.

2)   Single family home prices in Mecklenburg County are down (7%) for the first time over the same period last year.

3)   The housing supply is up to 7.03 months which indicates a shift to a buyer’s market.

All three of these points are little scary and tell us that we are experiencing a down market.   Anyone surprised?  

The reason I feel so inclined to emphasize the data this month is that there is a very silver lining to it all.   If you look a bit more closely at the data, here’s what you’ll see:

1)   Interest rates are as low as they’ve been in years.

2)   Pending home sales are up over the previous month for the first time since April 2007.  

I believe that the  Pending Home Sales figure is the single  most important to consider this month.   The reason  is that  it’s a very good indication that we’ve reached the bottom of the market here in Charlotte.   Pending home sales tell us what’s under contract, but not yet closed.   It is a very accurate prediction of what will close in the next 30-60 days.   With sales down and pending sales up, we have a clue that a pivotal point in our market has been reached.