The latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors^® was released on August 7th.  According to this new report some improvement is projected for existing-home sales in the months ahead, with broader gains seen by the the last months of the year.  This could be a result of buyers take advantage of new provisions provided through the recently passed housing stimulus bill.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said sales have been in a pattern of rising and falling within a fairly narrow range. “With a tax credit now available to first-time home buyers, increases in home sales could be sustained with the momentum carrying into 2009.”  Yun also reports "New-home sales are expected to bottom around the second quarter of next year with slight gains in the second half of 2009."

Although still down from June 2007, the Southern region has jumped 9.3 percent to 92.4 on the pending home sales index, which was the highest percentage jump in all 4 regions.  

While we still have a ways to go for the market to level back out, this is the time for buyers to enter the market.  By the time the mainstream media reports a market recovery, prices may already be headed up at that point.  Remember the media tends to like doom and gloom and are slow to report "good news."  If you have any questions about the Charleston real estate market, I would be happy to help you out!