Hungry for a little good real estate news? Leon d’Ancona, president of IMS Inc., has something to cheer you up.

D’Ancona, who provides real estate information to the industry, has set up a Web site that lists 2,319 markets in the United States where homes are selling well.

For instance, Loganville, Ga., homes sold 38.5 percent faster in April than they did in March, and sales of homes in Avondale, Ariz., increased by 64 percent in April compared with March

“The problem with glass-is-half-empty stories is that they have an undue psychological impact on markets that is not borne out by all the facts,” says d’Ancona. “We know, because it’s our business to know, that there are hundreds of cities and thousands of neighborhoods in the United States right now where the market is very healthy, thank you.”

I would like to share this article with you.!1 

Erica Solvig • The Desert Sun • May 29, 2008April housing sales strongest since September 2005April’s housing sales marked the strongest year-over-year showing the Coachella Valley has seen since September 2005.The 912 homes sold in April reflect a 3.8 percent drop from the year before - a marked improvement compared to typical year-over-year declines that have hovered around 30 percent.The sales also mark a 25.1 percent increase over March, according to a monthly analysis of the valley DataQuick Information Systems released this week.A bulk of April’s sales were resale homes, which made year-over-year gains.”We’ve seen little baby steps, little baby steps (in the market upswing). Now you’re starting to see full strides,” said Sam Schenkl, executive officer of the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors, which represents 1,500 agents and brokers.DataQuick’s April analysis also shows:The resale market continues to drive housing sales.A total of 496 existing single-family homes sold, up 2.5 percent from April 2007. There were 276 resale condos sold in April, up 1.5 percent from a year ago.New construction continues to struggle, though sales rose over previous months. A total of 140 new homes were sold. That’s a 27.1 percent decline from April 2007.April’s sales continue an upward swing that began in the fall. It’s the highest number of monthly sales since July.Experts credit renewed confidence from investors, notably Canadians, for helping boosting April’s sales.Many visitors who have enjoyed the desert all season want to buy before they leave and summer starts.”People have been holding off; now they’re ready to make the move,” Schenkl said.

I was just working on the sales statistics for the month of April…it brought a smile on my face…The sales are up and it seems that we are on the same trend for May. Canadians have helped us a lot by buying during the winter, prices did come down but not drastically and the American buyer is getting slowly his confidence back. Prices will not drop lower..if anything we will see now offers at almost listing prices, the worst is behind us. For us realtors we sure went trough tough times. But I kept working and I closed deals and I spoke to clients and I was busy . I certainly did not sit home and complained. I am a positive , optimistic person and I helped my clients get good deals because I understood the market and could show them the way. Our summer is going to be hot in every way!!

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