New Growth-New Activity

Once again IN weather has lived up to it's reputation. On Tues. morning it was 9 degrees and today(Fri) it's nearly 70. We've had several days of warmer weather and it has given me the urge to get out in the yard and look at my trees, bushes and perrineals. It's been the coldest winter we've had in years and there were several that I worried might not survive. To my delight, I see new life in all of them.

As a regular watcher of our residential market data, I also see new life. In Muncie-Del. Co., IN, pendings are up for the second straight month and up 26% since the 4th quarter of 2008. Our inventory is holding steady and a number of high-priced properties have gone under contract in the last several weeks.

I think the analogy is pretty clear. Though we have cold snaps and a few weeks of winter still ahead of us, spring is beginning now. Also, though we are by no means out of the real estate crunch, our market is "greening". If we can get the media to stop painting everything as it is in CA, NV, AZ, FL and D.C. people will regain their confidence. That probably isn't going to happen, so the weeks will go by and the pendings will become closed sales and new pendings will continue to materialize and increase. Then someday, someone from the media might look around and realize that for most of the nation, the down cycle has run its course and a renewal is underway. Maybe they'll consider that newsworthy, but I doubt it.