Even though we are not in the traditional season for open houses, we've been surprised at how many people have been coming to the ones that have been held lately. We think it's a result of the tax credit, and the interest is stronger at the lower end of the price scale, but we're happy for the activity wherever it falls.
The moral of this story is that this may not be the typical holiday season, and that, if you are a seller, you may want to try harder to sell your home over the holidays. Don't make the assumption that the market will be dead until spring. Our November results were 80% ahead of our November results last year--we are clearly in the early stages of a recovery. While prices will lag for a long time after unit sales rise, there are clearly buyers out there.
