Earlier this month, we turned another page on what has been a long methodical recovery.  Sales for the first time notched ahead of 2010 year-to-date. That is a milestone, especially since 2010 had the tax credit provision in the first half of the year. Looking back, what we have learned is that the tax credit borrowed sales from the future which explains last year’s dismal second half.

Month-to-date, August generated 1,548 sales for us versus 1,154. This is a 34% increase August over August. Year-to-date, it is 10,519 sales vs. 10,466 sales. Admittedly this is not huge, but, slowly but surely, the tide is turning.

In my previous blog posts I declared that October 2010 was the bottom of the market in the Carolinas.  So far, based on our footprint (Raleigh to Greenville, South Carolina) the Carolinas are moving in the right direction. Price pressures will still remain for the next 12 months or so due to the supply of inventory and the remaining distressed properties being injected into the marketplace. We are looking for buyer confidence to continue and to end the year with a 15% increase in sales units and volume.

I tell you all this because the recovery of this economy is based on the recovery of the housing market. That may sound self-serving, but we must protect the equity we all have in our homes. We have to restore appreciation.  It is our solace for old age, and it is the safe haven for most of America’s individual wealth.  Job creation, buyer confidence, the restoration of credit and comparables are all components of a strong America.

By Pat Riley