Wake County Recession?

You hear so much in the news and press today about recession this, subprime market that, housing slub etc, etc, etc.

I may not know alot about the rest of the world, but I do know a little something about Wake County NC. Are WE in a recession? Are we in a housing slump? A little, but not THAT much.

Did I tell you that Forbes rated Apex, NC the number one place to live in NC? #14 in the US too. That didn't hurt us. All the other accolades that are given to the Triangle area (see my website at www.drewludlow.com) certainly don't hurt us either.

Sure, during the month of December, my business slipped a little. But that was because of the Holidays. Market activity ALWAYS slips towards the end of the year, and is always slow to react at the beginning of the year. So, you take a look at the larger picture.

I am fortunate to have access to a wonderful storehouse of statistical data courtesy of the the Triangle MLS and Stacey Anfindsen. Every month, they publish a statistical market update. The following is a Reader's Digest of how are market is currently doing, compared to last year:

• Total inventory (homes for sale) is up 23% compared to 2006 - I think a large part of this has to do with the fact that MORE people are selling rather than a judgement on Buyer confidence. Just see the next stat.
• But total showings are only down 5% compared to 2006
• Total closed sales are down 6%. Not bad considering all the negative press
• Current supply is 5 months compared to 4 months in December of last year.

Of course, there are plenty more stats to go around. If you would like some more, just email me. But suffice it to say, we are not doing THAT bad compared to last year at this time. Given that the rest of the country is in a panic about real estate, I still continue to list homes and help buyers buy homes. I have seen a little drop in activity, but I am not as sure that is completely due to the mortgage mess and real estate slump. Perhaps there are other factors contributing to the stats we just saw. You do know that in 2005 and 2006, there was a real estate frenzy and investors were buying, buying buying. Perhaps the numbers simply show a drop off in THAT activity. One way you could look at it is that our market has corrected back to the days before the real estate 'bubble'.