The first half of February shows some much higher numbers than the same time in January. We can safely assume this can be partially explained by the holiday season just finishing up and people not too concerned about homes right then.
Now let's look at the numbers for the first 2 weeks of February. When we look at the overall results we see there were 55% fewer homes going under contract than were listed further bloating the already full inventory. That said, I want to take a look at the central price range, $100,000 to $199,999, for the Sumter area. Looking at this range we see much tighter numbers and trends with less than a percent difference between homes listed and those going under contract. I am going to elect to take an optimistic viewpoint here. This trend would indicate a minor upswing with a greater increase in activity as the spring buying season picks up steam. If we add the incentive of the $8000 tax credit included in the stimulus bill, I would anticipate an even greater chance of the buyers market becoming a little more active in the next few months.
All Prices for 1-15 Feb
78 Listings
43 Pending or Under Contract
27 Closings
$100,000 to $199,999 Range for 1-15 Feb
30 Listings
27 Pending or Under Contract
14 Closings
Compare this with the following numbers for January.
All Prices for January 1-15 2009
41 Listings
10 Pending or Under Contract
17 Closings
$100,000 to $199,999 Range for January 1-15 2009
26 Listings
5 Pending or Under Contract
8 Closings
