Monterey Car Week is now behind us, and it’s time to get back to work and focus on real estate.  But before we do, let’s take one more look at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours “Best in Show”, the 1937 Horch 853, known to this year’s attendees as “The Horch”.  What a stunning car…and now back to real estate.

It’s refreshing to finally see current sales figures rise to the prior year’s level.  For the rolling quarter (no pun intended) we’ve seen 35 sales in Carmel, the identical number for this time last year.  I’m thinking this is the cross-over point where the next few months will show increases over last years numbers.  As you recall from last year, things weren’t going too well for the economy into the presidential election, and that had negative consequenses for real estate activity here on the Monterey Peninsula.  Even more impressive are the 18 pending sales in the last 30 days.  Of these 18 pendings, four have already closed (one of which was ours, a 10-day, all cash transaction), while only two transactions have fallen through.

Inventory still remains extremely high at 208, up 30% from this time last year, but this isn’t due entirely to a lack of sales but is instead due to a flood of new listings.  Now that the Concourse is over, it’s time for our typical inventory retreat from the year’s highs, until it heads up again in January.  All in all, the increased sales over the last couple months tell me that the worst is likely over, the sellers are getting the message and pricing to sell, and the buyers are back.  Let the good times roll.