My number-crunching Realtor-mentor, Leif Swanson did his annual good/bad analysis of the year.

This is really interesting, especially in light of dire predictions for 2010.

REAL ESTATE UPDATES: GOODBYE 2009 – HELLO 2010!

2009 was hot & cold depending upon price and if you were a seller or buyer.

The Bad News:
* Property prices dropped 31 percent in 2009, bottoming out in early April. Some cities fared
better than others. See the attached “Comparison of 2008 & 2009 Data” sheet to see how your
city performed.
* The average sales price in 2009 was $170,000, down from 2008’s $248,000.
* Foreclosures dominated the real estate market, accounting for 55% of 2009’s sales. Short
sales accounted for 25% of all active listings, but only 14% of all sales.
* Homes priced above $350,000 remained hard to sell.
* Vacant properties accounted for 82% of all sales in 2009.
* Loan modification programs failed to materialize. It was too late for many homeowners.

Good News? How about these facts:
* Although the average sales price in 2009 was lower than 2008, by the 4th quarter, the average
sales price went up to $174,100, a 2.4% increase.
* Phoenix was the best in the nation on home price change in the 4th quarter at plus 1.3%.
* Home & condo sales in 2009 were much higher than last year. Almost 55 percent better! In
fact, 2009 was the 3rd best sales year ever (over 92,400 sales). December 2009 was the 2nd
highest sales December ever.
* Affordability was the name of the game in 2009. How can anyone complain about prices
below $100/square foot?
* Interest rates dropped significantly in December 2008 and hovered around 5% all year.
* Pending sales are still strong going into January 2010 despite national news to the contrary.
* Over 9,900 pending sales right now! And over 670 sold properties so far in 2010.