Jim Mulleady

The red line is the units sold and is the most significant value. Unit sales in June 2008 were 123, in 2007, they were 186 and in 2006 they were 207. In 2009, June unit sales of homes in Vilas and Oneida Counties were a disappointing 79 units. We are selling 38% of the homes that we were in 2006 and 64% of what we were in 2008.

This is normally our prime selling season. Our inventory is excellent and there are terrific values out there. There simply are not many buyers.

We were more optimistic about the second half of 2009 but I'm afraid that our expectations were set too high. Other areas of the country are rebounding but there is a definite downward trend here right now. If you are a Seller that is not good news as further discounting will be necessary. If you are a Buyer, this is excellent news as terrific buys are out there and more will be coming.

Improving! The average numbers have been boosted by 4 $1M sales on the waterfront side in both Oneida and Vilas Counties. This is one area where the sales (and showings) have been sluggish.

Off-water home sales have also improved. The market under $200K has been active and continues to improve.

The volume of showings continues to its upward move. So, things are looking better. I don't wish to throw a damper on the improving market but interest rates have climbed. This is due to a number of factors including the devalued dollar and increasing budget deficits on both the state and national level.

I'm still optimistic about the second half of 2009. Inventory is excellent and there are terrific values. Buyers are only beginning to discover the value that is out there.

The red line is the one to watch. This represents the unit sales in both Oneida and Vilas Counties. It has not shown a significant increase yet in 2009. In fact, after a disappointing 2008, the 2009 numbers show fewer unit sales than 2008. Not the best of news for Sellers. I still remain optimistic for unit sales to be in the 150 to 200 unit range in August and September, much healthier than 2008.

Some good news here is that the number of listings is below last year. Our inventory is still high relative to the numbers of active buyers. The one concern that I have is the number of buyers in the higher priced properties has not risen much. At present, there are 1492 lakefront properties in the Northwoods' MLS and only 43 have accepted offers. That is only 2.8%, a very low number.

The volume of showings have increased dramatically in the past 4 weeks. Low interest rates, a good inventory and motivated sellers; it's a very good time to be a Buyer!

Is the bottom here? Possibly but by the looks of the chart it appears that we may be in the negative for some time yet. However, the volume of sales is still so very low, it is impossible to come up with any definitive conclusions.

Sales volume remains low with 30 homes sold thus far on-water in Vilas County and 32 off-water. In 2008, only 103 on-water homes were sold so it appears that volume of on-water will surpass 2008 levels. Keep in mind that historically, more homes are sold in the last half of the year than the first half.

In Oneida County, there were 26 on-water homes sold and 73 off-water homes sold. Last year, there were 138 on-water home sold in Oneida County so it would appear that volume for on-water will be lower in 2009 for lake homes.

Volume of showings have increased dramatically in the past 3 weeks. Low interest rates, a good inventory and motivated sellers; it's a very good time to be a Buyer!

Not great but headed in the right direction!

We now are showing a positive trend. 50 units sold in March and 76 units sold in April. That is still well below previous March and Aprils: 2008 saw70 and 77, 2007 had 95 and 166 and 2006 had135 and 148. So, we are not anywhere near the volume we saw two years ago but we are improving!

The big change was the amount of buyer traffic. There are many reports of increased showings and offers. We are optimistic that June and July may see increases over 2008. I can only attribute this to market optimism.

The bottom may be behind us already.

Low interest rates, a good supply of money and sellers willing to accept reasonable offers all say one thing. There never has been a better time to be a Buyer!