See that plunging purple line?  That marks the sudden drop in available homes from an incredible height of over 20 months to sell every home on the market to an index of 19, then 14, now 11.5 months at the start of May here in Hunterdon County.

That’s a dramatic drop yet it only heralds a return to the levels we had prior to the onset of the Great Recession in mid-September when Wall Street kicked an ordinary recession into overdrive. 

[As a side note: this Great Recession has revived the ghosts of FDR and H. Hoover in a debate which J.M. Keynes won a half-century ago when the government spending he advocated, as with the New Deal then gearing up for WWII, finally lifted us from the Great Depression.]  

Was this recent drop in the inventory index due to homes being withdrawn from the market or to purchase contracts?  Mostly new contracts.  The graph below shows how anxiety over Wall Street and the onset of the Great Recession in September created a hole in home sales.  In the past two months, homes sales have increased to something closer to the new normal.

 The graph above shows five years of robust sales and the past three years of lower sales.  Even in the past three years, sales have been cyclical, with lows and relative highs.  It looks like we’re entering a period of increased home sales over the next few months.    For a closer look, see the graph below, which highlights the market since since April 2006.

What does this mean to you?   Call Don Sherblom 908 303-8130 or email me here.

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Don Sherblom.  RE/MAX Town & Country
44 Leigh Street, Clintn, NJ 08809 
(908)  303-8130

Find your next home fast at  http://ClintonRealEstate.com