For anyone who read my last post on the 23rd about 2009 being a tough year, I have an update.  I find it very interesting that over the last week, I have averaged over 5 registrations per day for people new to using my home search page.  I have also had 5 inquiries about specific home listings.  That is a huge jump from last summer, which is usually the peak of our market.  It is also a significant increase over August through October when the first-time home buyers were scrambling to by in order to take advantage of the tax credit.  Just what is going on here?

I have talked with a number of people in my Keller Williams office and many have seen a sudden surge in home buying interest.  The consensus is that people are just glad to put 2009 behind them and are more optimistic about 2010.  Granted, this consensus is the opinion of many local agents, but it makes sense to me.  2009 has been very difficult and many people, including myself, will be happy when it is over. 

Although I generally don't trust the media or the government, some of the news I have heard lately has been encouraging.  Home prices are up slightly.  Consumer confidence is up.  The price of oil hasn't risen significantly.  Sales before Christmas were up compared to a year ago.  Here in Texas, the unemployment rate went down in December. GDP for the U.S. rose 2.2% from July-September and that was the first increase after four quarters of decline.

Let me say that as good as all of these things sound, the U.S. economy is still very weak.  The government will stop buying mortgage-backed securities in the 1st quarter of 2010 and that may cause interest rates to jump.  Unemployment is still high nation-wide.  The government is also spending money faster than they can print it and that could lead to inflation.

However, going back to the increase in people registering on my website, this is encouraging for 2010 Austin home sales.  Other people in Austin I talk with who have prominent real estate websites are seeing the same thing.   I don't ever remember seeing late December, even in a great year, see this kind of activity on my website.  This is all encouraging.

This will probably be my last post until 2010 is here.  Happy New Year to everyone!