So I just got the latest statistics for closed sales for 2010, which has allowed the completion of an analysis looking at how market activity and prices have been effected by the peak and the downturn. The clear conclusion here is that we’ve appear to have hit a bottom plateau and are primed for a solid recovery as the national and local economic growth begins gain traction.

This chart shows total annual residential purchases (in blue) over the past 7 years (left axis) compared with annual median home prices (right axis).  You can easily see the activity peaked in 2005 and prices in 2007.

What I take away from this chart:

• Activity - it appears we found a new ‘normal’ level of sustainable activity in the market.
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• Prices - it appears we found a bottom of the market,  and while at today’s median price of $350,000 we aren’t much above the bottom of $340,000 in November 2009, we have stayed above the bottom for more than 12 months now.

Bottom-line, things are getting better!