January 2009 Real Estate stats...

Last November the R/E Pollyanna's began putting the full court press on those home owners who did not HAVE to sell. Their plan? Encourage them to let their listings expire ("relist in spirng" they were told) and this would result in an artificial reduction in inventory.

The plan... reduce inventory, create demand, increase sales, halt the decline in housing prices.

January is the first month to really test the results.

This months sales in Greater Vancouver were 764 v. 1,819 from January 2008. That's a 58% drop in sales from this time last year.

Inventory reached 15,066 listings, resulting in a 51% increase in inventory from this time last year.

A 60% drop in sales and a 50% increase in inventory.

The best stat to watch is Months of Inventory (MOI). This figure illustrates the strength (or lack thereof) of the market best of all. Last January (2008) the MOI sat at 5.5 months (your house, on average, would take 5.5 months to sell if priced like other comparable homes).

This month? The MOI is sitting at 20 months, almost two years.

Unless sales spike dramatically in February and March, April is shaping up to brutal.

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