This week our listings saw an average of 1.6 showings each which is a bit low based on the traffic we’ve been seeing over the past few months. Activity has been steady in our office but the pattern that buyers are slow to act continues. Inventory locally and nationally is increasing, but that trend will hopefully slowdown as we enter into the middle of the prime selling season.
The week to come is expected to have a big impact on how consumers will make their upcoming buying decisions. The Federal Reserve is meeting this week and it is expected that little or no cuts will be made and in general rate cuts are expected to slow. This is another signal that the market has hit bottom.
Specifically in the real estate market, it was reported this week that home sales slipped in March nationally but that certain markets including Charlotte continue to buck the trend. It could be that we were behind in during the boom and hence we will be slow to fall. However, it is more likely that because our ‘boom’ was much less significant than in the rest of the country, we are less likely to experience the dramatic downside.
All of this must be taken with a grain of salt. The National Association of Realtors, Jed Smith put it well this week with his article on the value of forecasts, which is both amusing and dead on.