RISMEDIA, January 8, 2010—Confidence amongst real estate professionals surveyed as part of Point2 Technologies’ monthly Real Estate Confidence Index (RECI) poll dropped marginally in December 2009, but maintained relative optimism, with the national Index holding in positive territory at 5.91 on the 1-10 scale, Point2 recently announced.
The national RECI registered a relatively modest 1.99% retreat versus the all time high printed last month when the Index jumped to 6.03, a 7.87% improvement versus November 2009 results.
Mixed sentiments expressed by survey respondents in December highlighted the role of the government’s newly expanded tax credit program in driving business in lower price bracket market categories, with a less optimistic outlook prevailing in association with the end of the program, at the end of April 2010.
Tough lending practices were cited as a key opportunity for sustained market recovery and low appraisals and high foreclosure property inventories were blamed for continued pressure on property prices in several markets around the U.S.
Extending a trend observed since the RECI’s launch in June 2009, real estate brokers and agents operating in U.S. cities with major military presence continued to express relatively more positive sentiment regarding the business environment.
All three components of the national RECI regressed marginally. The Current Sentiment gave up 2.90%, registering 5.01 on the 1–10 scale, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The 3–6 month forward looking Short Term optimism/pessimism variable slipped by 0.67% after a 10.98 percent leap in November. The Long Term component, which measures broker and agent optimism/pessimism for the next 12–18 month period came in at 6.80, dropping 2.58% after a 7.22% improvement in the prior period.
Long Term optimism remained relatively healthy however, with the majority (73.80%) of brokers and agents giving the 12–18 month optimism/pessimism Index component a rating of 6 or higher. Sixty percent of the respondent base rated the same variable between 7 and 10, and 11% expressed extreme forward looking confidence, giving the 12–18 month window a perfect 10.
The RECI capitalizes on the insight and knowledge of real estate brokers and agents across every U.S. State to bring a unique, forward-looking ground level view of the health and future outlook of the real estate market from the people most attuned to local conditions. Unlike many other industry surveys, the RECI does not rely on past performance statistics or mathematical projections to predict the future health of the real estate market.
For more information, visit www.Point2.com.
