The recent statistics published by the National Association of Realtors — that pending sales of existing homes rose 6.7% in April over the previous year — was the first time in the last several months that highly publicized statistics actually agreed with the experience I was having, out in the trenches. Finally the stats publicly confirmed that people *were* returning to the marketplace and putting homes under contract. Throughout April and May I’ve been busier than I have been in years, and put in five contracts worth about $1.4 million total … one of which has now settled. And as I look around my office, I’m hearing tales of similar activity. My colleagues and I were running crazy, but none of the national statistics were showing it.
So this is real *good* news, but its also *real* good news. Statistics don’t always show what’s going on beneath. And the media — for whatever reason — prefers to trumpet bad news over encouraging developments. If this manages to keep going through the hot months, we will have a genuine recovery under way, with declining inventory and stabilizing home prices. I just hope that if that happens, the people who decide what news *is* will decide to let everyone else know. I’ll certainly be broadcasting it to anyone who will listen.
