2009 Finishes on a Strong Note

Regular followers of our blog will know that sales really starting picking up throughout the second half of the year, such as the huge jump in sales in November. See our December 2009 post entitled “Thurston County Home Sales Record Biggest Jump of the Year.”

It was a tough start to 2009. Through the first half of the year, home sales fell 18% compared to the same period a year earlier. See Chart 1. The broader economic conditions, including a falling stock market and rising unemployment, rattled consumer confidence at that time.

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Throughout the year prices started to come back in line with our market’s historic levels of appreciation. With the price reductions, buyers have jumped back into the market. In the second half of the year, home sales were up 10% over 2008 levels. See Chart 2.

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Statistics compiled by Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Inc. from the NWMLS database. Statistics not compiled or published by NWMLS.