Home Sales in December Up 6.5% Nationally

It’s always interesting to me to see how headlines are formed. Sometimes they convey the true meaning of the article but many times they don’t.

Take this heading from The Wall St. Journal:

Price Cuts Spur Home Sales

Home sales rising should be great news, right? Well, they seem to feel the need to couch it alongside some negative news—the price cuts. Are we sure that it was the price cuts that forced the increase? I’m sure they played a role but many factors, including things like the weather, affect home sale numbers. Then the WSJ does it again with the tagline:

Largest Monthly Gain Since 2002, but Economists Warn of Sluggish Season Ahead

Awesome! But don’t stay happy. Sounds like our popular media is a bit conflicted. Not all experts are predicting “sluggish” results. Alexis McGee is predicting a “major improvement.”

How did we do here in Louisville? In November 2008, there were 459 homes sold in Jefferson County, and 497 sold in December 2008 for 8.3%.

Keep in mind it’s usually better to compare a particular month from one year to the same month of a previous year. When we do that, there was a significant drop from the 668 homes sold in December 2007.

If you’d like to see what your home might sell for in today’s market, feel free to contact me for a complimentary CMA.