You may have noticed more “for sale” signs around Whidbey Island  of late and that is a sign of change – of positive change – according to Fannie Mae! The housing market is showing definite signs of improvement which is good news, regardless of whether you are a buyer or seller.

The Fannie Mae Economic & Strategic Research Group reports a “modest growth” trend through the rest of 2012.  Despite an uncertain job market and lowered consumer spending in the first quarter, the group is still forecasting a 2% increase in the gross domestic product growth projection, which is excellent for real estate and for you, if you are interested in buying or selling a home!

Fannie Mae’s Chief Economist Doug Duncan reported that, “Despite signs of deteriorating momentum for economic activity, housing continues to be a bright spot as news from the housing market has been relatively upbeat, presenting a rare upside boost to the economy.” The report went on to state that home sales have increased 9% in the last year and that single family homes are selling for 20% more than they did in 2011.

Combining those statistics with the National Housing Survey released last month, which showed greater confidence in homeowners about the real estate market, means that a turn-around is in progress. In fact, those polled showed a 6 percentage point increase in their desire to buy, an all-time high as compared to normal poll statistics gathered over the last two years.  Visit Fannie Mae online to access the survey results and see other recent reports on the housing market.

January 2012 is over and we are headed into an exciting year of opportunity.  In researching the statistics for North Whidbey Island real estate sales for January, we have found that the market seems to be starting a rebound. The number of active listings (homes for sale) is decreasing and the number of pending sales is increasing which is a very good indicator for a stabilizing market. Also the number of days that homes are on the market for sale is decreasing. Another great statistic is our sales prices. After a number of years of decline, we seem to be bouncing along the bottom. Prices have stabilized with a little increase in some markets. New construction and condominiums are still at a slow pace but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

For purchasers this is still a good time to be considering buying a home. With the interest rates at an all time low and the market still soft, now seems to be the best time to be a buyer.  As we approach the summer selling season, I believe that with the decreased amount of homes for sale, the prices will start to inch up. Hopefully interest rates will stay down for some time.

As we approach the end of 2011, we start to evaluate the statistics for the year. Since we are still in December, the final results won’t be available  to be posted for a few weeks, but I thought I would give you a taste of the real estate market here on beautiful Whidbey Island.  I will show you a snapshot of total sales and median prices for the three areas of Whidbey Island; North, Middle, and South.  In my next post I will include graphs and explanations for the total 2011 sales.

• North Whidbey Island, which includes every sale north of Libbey Rd, was down both in total transactions and median sales price. Sales were down approximately 6% from 2010 and the median sales prices was down approximately 5%.
• Central Whidbey Island saw a year where the sales increased approximately 6% but the  median sales price remained about the same as 2010.
• South Whidbey Island experienced an increase in sales of approximately 1.5% but declined in median sales price of close to 13%.

As we have always been told, real estate is very local. These few statistics only give a snapshot of the overall market in these areas. Individual homes and locations can vary by quite a large differential. Your local real estate specialist can help you with your particular property’s value and ability to be sold. I will be posting a much more in-depth market report in a few weeks.