Record cold weather? Snowstorms that blanketing the country? January was a much dismal month for sales across many of Terradatum’s Top 40 Markets when compared to December.

Unit Sales of Residential Single Family Homes were down 28.8% versus December – although sales were actually up 1.4% from January 2010.  While we were all looking forward to a continuation of December’s positive unit sales, the consumer didn’t make the deals.  Everyone of Terradatum’s Top 40 Markets experienced a double digit drop in unit sales month over month, with most markets seeing more than 20% declines (22 of the 40 markets saw 30% or greater drops in unit volumes!).  Let’s hope that milder weather brings the consumers back to the housing market!

Prices Continue to Retreat…What Level Will be Needed to Give Volumes a Bump Up?

At the same time, the prices for sold properties decreased across our sample cities in January (versus December).  Overall, Median Prices for Sold Properties dove downward by 6.5% and prices for Sold properties were 4.8% below the year before numbers (i.e., January 2010 levels).  This continued decline in prices may be good news since we clearly need lower prices to bring the consumer back into the market.  The price swings across the markets were larger than in December with several markets (e.g., Cleveland and Tampa) seeing larger than 10% declines in prices for Sold properties.  Overall, seven of Terradatum’s Top 40 Markets experienced double digit declines, while only one market (New York Metro) saw an increase (1.3%) in prices.