Many believe that uncertain expectations prior to the recent elections kept most buyers on the sidelines, waiting to see ultimately who would be the president elect.  Now that the election is over and people have a better sense of where they believe the economy is heading, we may see an increase in buyer activity.

There are several reports published lately that capture the indecision and perceptions on the part of both buyers and sellers.  The first is an interesting survey published by Zillow last week, their Q3 Homeowner Confidence Survey.  Surprisingly, 49% of those homeowner’s surveyed don’t believe their home has decreased in value.  Of those same homeowners, 61% felt that their home value would either stay the same or increase in value in the next 6 months.  Home prices for most metropolitan areas have declined however.  For the full article, go to http://www.zillowblog.com/strangely-not-my-house-sentiment-continues-albeit-a-smaller-group/2008/10/?s_cid=emm-2007112MYZSurvey-surveytop.

  

The next report is the latest research into consumer confidence published by the Consumer Research Center on Oct. 28, 2008.  Their research shows that consumer confidence index had improved slightly in Sept but declined significantly in October.  The Center attributes this decline to many different factors.  For the full article, you can visit http://www.conference-board.org/economics/ConsumerConfidence.cfm

Locally, a comprehensive report was recently published by the National Association of Realtors analyzing the housing market in 150 major metropolitan cities.  It compares how each city fared against the national averages.  It measures several key indicators beyond price appreciation/depreciation, including economic outlook.  See how the Twin Cities matched up at http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/myconnect/bced4b804b79e9cbb3a5ff9e992da8fc/08MNMinneapolis.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=bced4b804b79e9cbb3a5ff9e992da8fc