Home Sales Results by MSA For AgentEvaluator™ Agents

As we wrap up one of the most heated presidential campaigns in recent times this month and constituents everywhere head to the polls on November 4th, voters in towns all over America, worried about the troubled economy, have a major concern.

That is, they still need to provide a roof over their heads for their families, either as a homeowner, renter, or perhaps by residing with family.

Even as we are saturated with doom and gloom in the media and falling home prices , things do not change. Life goes on regardless of the turbulent economy and current housing crisis.

As Realtors, we are here to help serve people with that need, and our help is perhaps required more than ever in these challenging times.

There is still plenty of activity out there in the market, albeit more “tire kickers” than you’ll find in a normal, balanced market. Real estate agents tell me home buyers’ and sellers’ expectations are slowly adjusting to the market in many areas.

Listed here are the top 10 areas for both home buyers and home sellers where HomeGain consumers closed sales during the first three quarters of 2008.

Top National MSA’s For HomeGain AgentEvaluator Real Estate Agents Year to Date in 2008:

1. Washington, DC-Baltimore, MD
2. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
3. Chicago, IL-Gary, IN-Kenosha, WI
4. Atlanta, GA
5. Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX
6. Philadelphia, PA-Wilmington, DE-Atlantic City, NJ (up from 8^th)
7. Los Angeles-Riverside County-Orange County, CA (slipped from 6 to 7^th)
8. New York City-Long Island, NY-Northern NJ-CT (slipped from 7^th to 8^th)
9. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
10. Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI

Relatively minor changes this month on the Top 10 list are that Philadelphia moved up from #6 to #8 while Los Angeles and New York lost ground slipping slightly from #6 to #7, and from #7 to #8 respectively.

Danielle Boling, Founder and Broker-Owner of Network Real Estate Partners in Plano, Texas, is a HomeGain AgentEvaluator Gold Club member and will be opening offices in Chicago, IL, Austin, TX and San Diego, CA later this year.

Danielle reported to us that she is “very encouraged about the current Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market! Sure – the media can create a negative overtone…but that is not the reality.”

Danielle goes on to say that “looking at the Dallas-Fort Worth situation, we are really doing just fine.  There are many more foreclosures and short sales this year, as can be expected, given the situation with the lending crisis, but they are being sold, and they will eventually be sold again for big profits when the market improves further.”

Danielle pointed out that Dallas-Fort Worth is second only to Houston as having the most affordable median home prices out of the 20 largest Metropolitan cities in the U.S. and says “my clients are thrilled when they realize how much house and land they can get for the money in the area!”

Per Danielle, there is close to a balanced market in Dallas-Fort Worth with about 6.4 months of inventory and a strong demand.

Top 10 MSA’s For HomeGain AgentEvaluator Real Estate Agents in 3rd Quarter of 2008

1. Washington, DC-Baltimore, MD
2. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (tied for 1^st last Quarter)
3. Chicago, IL-Gary, IN-Kenosha, WI
4. Atlanta, GA
5. Philadelphia, PA-Wilmington, DE-Atlantic City, NJ (moved up to 5th from 9^th)
6. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA (moved up to 6th from 8^th)
7. Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint (unranked)
8. New York City-Long Island, NY-Northern NJ-CT (dropped from 6 to 8^th)
9. Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX (dropped from 5 to 9^th)
10. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (unranked)

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint and San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, who were both previously unranked, made the list this month at 7^th (Detroit) and 10^th ( San Francisco).

In Detroit, Jerry Davis, of National Realty Centers in Livonia, Michigan, and HomeGain Platinum Club agent, tells us there is “about a one-year inventory on the market with some areas worse, some may be a bit better”.

Jerry says “bargain hunters abound with many people looking for foreclosed properties, hoping to get a ‘steal of a deal’. In Wayne County, which encompasses Detroit and surrounding areas, he tells us “the number of foreclosure sales just about matches the number of non-foreclosure sales, while in Detroit proper foreclosure sales are about double the non-foreclosure rate”.

He says because the Detroit area is so tied to the automotive industry that it may take a “long, long time to recover.”

One bright spot is Ann Arbor, home to University of Michigan, where sales are up slightly over 2007 and an area that is less-influenced by the automotive industry.

Read HomeGain’s 2008 Mid-Year Report

Read more HomeGain Market Data