Jan.-Feb Buyer activity increases in Seacoast. Why?

There has been a marked increase in real estate activity in the Seacoast over the last 3 weeks. This is in contrast to one of the slowest Summer/Fall markets in 20 years . This includes both rentals and sales. Activity began shortly after the New Years, with the phones ringing for apartments. Then home buyers who had held off since the end of summer picked up where they left off. The media in the region had been predicting market values would plummet this winter; but they didn't. Rockingham County saw the largest value drops. This was due in part to overinflated prices over the last couple years. Strafford County dropped only slightly over the last 6 months. After speaking with some of these resurfacing buyers it became apparent that they held off for the last year, waiting for the bottom to drop out. Instead, they found that it was a very gradual decrease in pricing. After the holidays they decided it was not worth waiting any longer. We also had a very moderate start to the winter, making it easier to view homes. Winter, especially very cold temperatures like we have seen in the last 3 weeks encourages cabin fever. It will be interesting to see how the new snow and ice today effects this weeks activity. For listings, visit me at www.rominyrealestate.com