Every local market moves at a different pace and I rarely talk about national numbers because they may or may not reflect the local market. But, here is a link that provides insight to an interesting movement in the national real estate market. Good News? My gut feel is when you start getting several months in a row trending up, good things might be happening.

We seem to be feeling the same in the Destin area of Florida. In Sandestin’s Golf & Beach Resort, we’ve seen a definite uptick in sales (60%) over the same period in 2008, and that’s not counting any of the contingent distressed sales that are waiting for outside approvals. In talking with local realtors, many are feeling a pick-up; if not in actual buyers, at least in seriously looking buyers who have less than a 60 day horizon to decision. The good news for those that have been waiting on the sidelines for the past couple of years is that prices have softened, but outside of distressed property sales (or really motivated sellers) property asking prices appear to be stabilizing.

Are we at the bottom? My crystal ball is not quite as clear as it used to be, but it feels like we’re bouncing on something. Although, with so many external factors in flux, it’s hard to say. I’m a firm believer that we won’t know the bottom has come and gone until a few months after the fact; similar to not many people predicting the top a few years back. One thing I can say is that if you have been considering a real estate purchase and have at least a 5 year ownership window, it really won’t matter if we’re 5% above the bottom, except for bragging rights. Especially if interest rates start pushing up anytime in the near term. In fact, rate changes can have a much more dramatic affect to the monthly cost than a drop in price. For example, if you’re waiting around for prices to drop another 10%, but interest rates move up just a point in that same time period, you would actually be paying more in a monthly payment with the lower priced house than if you had not waited and purchased the house at a higher price, but a lower interest rate. With the motivated sellers out there today you just need to start a conversation and see if you can take advantage of both the market conditions and the low interest rates.