Good news!  In April 2009 we had more home and villa sales on Hilton Head Island than we did in April 2008.  You have to go back a long time to find a situation where we had more sales than the same month the year prior. 

We had 69 home sales in April of 2009 versus 55 in April of 2008.  We had 64 villa sales in April of 2009 versus 42 in April of 2008.

What does this mean?  The market is not running full speed, but it is improving and I think it has bottomed out.  I think we have reached a point where the sellers realize that the market is slow and are adjusting their prices accordingly.  Buyers are realizing that there are some great buys out there and are taking advantage of the situation.

For a long time I have been saying that the market would not pick up until the buyers on the sidelines think that the market has bottomed out. 

The buyers on the sideline usually do not make that decision until after it has already started picking up because the numbers they are seeing from the national press has to do with closed sales.  The numbers that we are using are pending sales (the date the property actually went under contract).  In the mind of the buyer that is really when they bought the property. 

If you are a buyer – jump in now while there are still a lot of good deals.  Do not wait until all the good deals are gone.

If you are a seller, be patient.  We are not out of the woods yet and one month does not make a market.