So the question that everyone asks me is; how bad is the real estate market? In Nevada County it’s not as bad as all the gloom and doom that one constantly hears in the media.

For example, residential sales last year from January 1, 2006 to September 1, 2006 were 741. The market inventory at that time was 1,254 homes. This year, from January 1, 2007 to September 2, 2007, residential sales were 625. Inventory at that time was 1,023. At first glance, it seems like a big drop in sales of 16%. However, the inventory has dropped 18%, so less inventory could lead to fewer sales.

The medium price last year was $455,000 and this year it’s at $440,000. So overall, Nevada County is not doing as bad as some other areas. We are fortunate that this is a great place to live and people are moving up here to get away from the big city life.

Lawrence Yun, NAR vice president of research, states that “Although sales are off from an unsustainable peak in 2005, there is a historically high level of home sales this year a lot of people are, in fact buying a home this year.”

Home sales are expected to total 5.78 million in 2007 and then rise to 6.12 million next year, in contrast to 6.48 million in 2006, according to Yun.

In further good news, delinquencies on mortgages slipped this week 8% and mortgage applications increased 2.4% for the week ending October 5, 2007

If you have any questions, or need help in real estate transactions, please let me help you.

John O’Dell is a licensed real estate broker, civil engineer and general contractor.