Real Estate activity was high in 2009

I was shocked when I pulled together the numbers for real estate transactions for 2009 from our Mountain Central MLS. Our MLS includes areas of McCall, east of New Meadows and Council, south as far as Smith Ferrys and back country areas of Warren and Yellow Pine. There were 436 residential units sold for 2009 - compared to only 216 residential units sold in 2008. I would say that the housing economy rallied a little bit 2009 for our area, wouldn't you? This is good news.
However, the other part of the equation is the median sales prices. In 2009 it was $179,077 and in 2008 it was $251,625. It was down almost 29% in 2009 over 2008, which probably has a lot to do with why the sales increased. So that leads to the question, have we found bottom? Now with the number of sales increasing, and bidding wars happening on many banked owned properties and multiple offers being presented on short sales, it may indicate we have found an attractive price point and with demand growing might lead to rise in prices.
You can make your own conclusions from the information, however it all indicates a good time to buy. Interest rates are still low, selection is still good and most importantly - the lakes, trees and fresh air aren't going anywhere. Happy New Year!