Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Decreasing Inventories


Take a look at this graph- I find it very interesting. This data is for all of Sarasota County dating back to last September.  You can see a clear decrease in properties on the market from a peak of over 13,000 in February to just over 9700 for November. That is an astounding decrease in active inventory (25%!). You can also see a trend in sold and pended homes- a clear increase from 2007.  There might be several explanations for the decrease in inventory- tired sellers, bank foreclosures, etc. But with recent foreclosure numbers showing that in October the number of foreclosures decreased, one begins to wonder how long our endless supply of inventory will last. I am not an economist, and I do not claim to fully grasp the scope of our economic crisis. What I do see is shrinking inventory, and better sales numbers than last year. I don't think I could ask for a better Christmas present.