Last week the Detroit New’s new Real Estate reporter, Nathan Hurst, and I had a chance to talk on the phone. Nathan has been here a couple of months now, and is excited about his new position covering the Metro Detroit real estate beat. He comes here from Boston and Nathan admitted that he was surprised by some of the high end home prices he found in Oakland County. I told him that other transferees here undergo the same shock, but Metro Detroit is still amazingly affordable. Anyway, Nathan loves homes and real estate and he has just the right job for his interests.
Nathan helped me out by doing the coverage of August real estate stats for the News. Oh yeah, that is his job. I will piggyback on his story.
In Oakland County, sales dropped to 1,301 last month from 1,305 in August 2006, a 0.31 percent drop. Homes there stayed on the market for an average of 128 days in August, an increase of 11.3 percent compared with last August’s 115 days.
The article goes on to say that home sales and prices are down nationwide.
There are wonderful opportunities out there for buyers, AND sales are taking place. This is important message. Only 4 homes less sold this August over last August–a negligible difference by any measure. I would feel comfortable calling that stable home sales. Of course, there are many frustrated home sellers in Metro Detroit who feel differently.
As I told Nathan, we have seen some really nice activity in the high end luxury market in Oakland County this year. There have been a number of quick sales and record setting transactions in Metro Detroit. Personally, I see this as a great sign. Those purchases, (over $2,000,000) are being made by Detroit business owners, who feel confident enough to invest literally millions of dollars into real estate. They are also the people who create jobs that help other people buy homes.
[tags]metro detroit home sales, oakland county home sales, michigan home sales August 2007, oakland county real estate[/tags]
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