The reports that I read have long held that the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year would mark the darkest hours of this recession.  The data that’s coming in, may suggest that we may be near the pace of economic decline moderating this spring.

In reading my Wachovia Economics Group report for March 27, 2009 had this to say:  HOUSING IS FEELING ITS WAY TOWARD A BOTTOM

“Some of the most surprising news this past week was the better than expected data on new and existing home sales for the month of February.  Sales of existing homes rose 5.1 percent in February, pushing sales up to a 4.72 million unit annual rate.  Foreclosures and short sales continue to account for a large proportion of overall sales, with the National Association of Realtors attributing 45 percent of February’s sales to that category.  Anecdotally we are seeing strong investor demand for deeply discounted foreclosed homes in many of the hardest hit housing markets.  The surge in foreclosure sales is one reason prices are down 15 percent over the past year.

Sales of new homes also improved in February, rising 4.7 percent to a 337,000 unit annual rate.  Sales rose nearly ten percent in the South and close to seven percent in the West, but they fell in both the Northeast and Midwest.  The improvement in sales combined with dramatic cutbacks in new construction has helped pull inventories down to much more manageable levels.  At current trends, housing inventories in unit terms should be back at their pre-boom level by this summer.

One of the most surprising statistics was the Federal Housing Finance Authority’s report of a record 1.7 percent rise in home prices  during January, with gains in every region except the West.”

Only time will tell.  We have been saying to the Alexandria market that 2009 might be the time to buy.  With prices being down, inventory levels still above normal and the interest rates at all time lows…this might be the time that you don’t want to say; I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT IN 2009.  I seen it happen in the 80′s.  If you have any comments, send them to me.