National Association of Realtors Releases December Figures

Nationwide home sales jumped 6.5% in December according to the NAR.

The biggest positive news came in the West, where sales jumped 13.6% during the month and are 31.6% higher than a year ago. Unit sales, which are sales of apartment buildings, contributed to the bulk of the jump in the West.

Feedback from our fellow professionals in the East Bay indicate that listing presentations are on the rise as home owners prepare for putting their homes on the market for the Spring selling season.

Buyers are everywhere. Open houses are seeing 20 to 30 groups come through in a day. Multiple offers are being made on bank owned properties – many are seeing 8 to 12 offers.

The way things are going, this Spring may be the hottest down market the East Bay has ever seen – just another unique happening in an historic market going places no one has gone before.

FYI – fellow Realtors are reporting that many clients are under the misguided assumption that all of that lost value in home appreciation will return in a few years. Not so, say the "experts." Expect appreciation to be normal (around 3%) for years to come. Don't expect an appreciation run up any time soon.