Economists expect prices to continue to fall through at least mid 2012.  This is due to the continued oversupply of houses available due to the huge number of distress and foreclosed properties.  See the full article here.

The article is based on 20 cities but is a good representation of the entire country.

Buyer activity remained above 2009 levels. There were 153 purchase agreements signed last week, representing a 10.9 percent increase over last year.

This combination of market activity helped to keep inventory levels lower than last year for the ninth consecutive week. The number of Active Listings for Sale was down 2.4 percent to 6,610 properties.

Based on July figures, sellers received an average of 90.6 percent of their original list price after about 114 days on the market. Median Sales Price stands at $130,000, and the Months Supply of Inventory metric remains fairly elevated at 12.8 months.

Buyer activity remained above 2009 levels, as it has for 29 out of the 33 full weeks this year. There were 146 purchase agreements signed last week, representing a whopping 36.4 percent increase over 2009.

This helped to keep inventory levels lower than last year for the eighth consecutive week. The number of Active Listings for Sale was down 3.6 percent to 6,559 properties. This marks the largest inventory decline in over a year (56 weeks to be exact).

Based on July figures, sellers received an average of 90.6 percent of their original list price after about 114 days on the market. Median Sales Price stands at $130,000, and the Months Supply of Inventory metric remains fairly elevated at 12.8 months.

Buyer activity remained above 2009 levels with 128 contracts written last week, representing a 7.6 percent increase.

This helped to keep inventory levels lower than last year for the seventh consecutive week. The number of Active Listings for Sale was down 3.5 percent to 6,553 properties.

Based on July figures, those sellers who are still waiting for an offer could expect to receive 90.8 percent of their list price and a market time of 114 days, though this number has been coming down in recent months. Median Sales Price remained at $132,000 taking into consideration overall market activity.

Arched doorways, hardwood floors, updated wiring, architectural shingles, fenced level yard and more!

The current projections for residential mortgage interest rates have shown little change within the past few home sales reporting periods.

For the month of February, the local median home price was $121,750. That represents a decrease of 3.0% from the same period one year earlier and a slight gain of 1.9% from the median price reported the previous month. The adjusted median price remains one of the more attractive for U.S. regions of this size.

In terms of the number of average days on the local market, February 2010 saw a small increase over figures from the same month in 2009, but down somewhat from the previous month of January of 2010. Those swings do not seem to portend anything more extraordinary than the variety of factors that comprise the overall operational vagaries of a recovering market system.

A review of the historical sales activities during the month of February over the past ten years shows a remarkable consistency, with the often stated sole exception of the “boom” years of the past mid-decade.

Year to date number of homes sold:

Three year comparison:

For the month of September, the local median home price was $129,900. That represents a decrease of 6.2% from the same period one year earlier and a statistically negligible decrease from the median price reported the previous month. However, it continues to represent a continuing trend of real affordability, the adjusted median price remains one of the more attractive for U.S. regions of this size.

With the population aging and fewer young people to take the place of baby boomers, the demand for housing may slow for years to come, keeping home values from increasing as they have done since World War II, according to at least one well-known national expert.

In terms of the number of average days on the local market, September 2009 saw a small increase over figures from the same month in 2008, and from the previous month of August 2009. Many economists attribute this pattern to a continuingly slow easing of pressures in the financial markets, returning to their previous averages and are hopeful of more consistency over the next few quarters.