Yes, I’m seeing the active/pending/sold activity as well, and you’re right that it’s a leading indicator.
What I was referring to with the “popcorn” comment was that as a result of this slowdown (higher inventory, fewer pendings/solds), the sellers who really want to sell will get out in front of the market, and it’s these sellers who create that first “pop” that really makes heads turn. After that, it’s a mad dash for the exits. I think the bump in prices/activity is what’s prompted a lot of sellers to list recently.
As to that particular area, I think that’s where the purported “cancer cluster” is (someone who knows better, please correct me if I’m wrong). FWIW, that is really going to affect how well that area does in the future. Also, while I *love* older areas, that area is a bit run-down, and the houses and yards are not as well maintained as other, more desirable neighborhoods.
BTW, while it looks like higher-priced homes are selling right now, I think it’s because some of the $1MM+ inventory has moved into the $700K-$800K range, and more buyers are picking those up. I don’t think things are stable on the high end, but the median will skew what’s really going on. We’re seeing better inventory in the $800K-$1MM range than we’ve seen in years (we don’t like tract homes, so sdr will probably disagree with me on that). 😉
