What is the Real Estate Sales forecast for 2009?

Some say that 2009 will be the "year of the thaw" and that home prices will continue to fall -- in my company I have noticed that things are starting to get busy - the phone is ringing - agents are showing our properties - seems like most other years.



Buyers are starting to realize that NOW is the time to buy. Here is a press release:



Press Release 2/3/09 - National Association of Realtors


2009 Real Estate Forecast Shows a Gain in both the Pending and Home Sales Arena!
Pending home sales show healthy gain. Pending increased as more buyers took advantage of improved affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Big gains in the South and Midwest offset modest declines in other regions.


The Pending Home Sales Index,1 a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, rose 6.3 percent to 87.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 82.5 in November, and is 2.1 percent higher than December 2007 when it was 85.9.

I think that the less I listen to the news and the more I listen to the phone ringing, the better I feel about the market!