UP OR DOWN?

February ’09 closings were off by 38% in Ada County and by 45% in Canyon County compared to February ’08 closings, reflecting the doldrums of last fall when there was so much political and economic uncertainty. Pending sales for the same period, however, are up in by 15% in Ada County and 2% in Canyon County.  Are things looking up?

Over 30% of all pending sales last year fell through.  Will the percentage of fallen sales decrease this year because buyers and sellers are more realistic?  Or will it increase with the expected rise in short sale activity?  It will be interesting to watch this statistic.

Another trend is the decrease in prices.  The median list price of pending sales in Ada County is $180,000, 9% lower than the actual median price of closed sales over the last year.  The drop in Canyon County was about 10% from an average median price for closed sales last year of $136,315 to a median list price for pending sales of $122,445.