*375 went pending in the month of May

We are now one month removed from the $8,000 tax credit! From what I see in the numbers and in my own personal business, it wasn't a whole lot of help, and in my opinion, a very poor use of our tax money. I did notice a jump in April solds due to the tax credit, but honestly, wouldn't have these buyers also have bought in May or June if they couldn't find the home they wanted until then? The most noticeable statistic is the "pending" stat - not much change there at all in the month of May. This tells me the market still has buyers out there looking for a home regardless of the tax credit. In my personal listings I have not seen a drop in showings or interest since the end of April and I am seeing the same number of offers. Interesting to note, however: buyers still recognize that it is a buyer's market and many offers are coming in less than full price with buyer's concessions being paid by the seller.

The percentage of "distressed" homes has remained constant since the beginning of 2010. This is good and bad - good that we have seen a large increase in "distressed" homes, bad because we have not seen an improvement either. We need to see this percentage go down on a consistent basis before we return back to a stable real estate market.

Current interest rates are hovering  around 5.05% with all indications leading to a rate increase in the near future.