5 TRENDS TO EXPECT FOR 2012

According to bloggers at KCM Blog we can watch these trends emerge: 1.) Buyers will return -  We're already seeing it as housing supply dips below 5 months (6 months inventory is considered a neutral market).  2.) Foreclosures will increase - Yeah, maybe, but this newsletters say the banks will defer more to short sales.  3) Prices will soften - This was covered already and is more applicable to other parts of the country that don't have the demand and population of So Cal.  Expect more stability than not, unless you are in outlying areas such as Victorville, Hemet, Sun City, Palm Springs, etc.  4.) Short sales increase - The appropriate response to this is... !!!  5)  This last trend isn't from KCM, but is more local fodder, namely inbound moves by the three major van lines jumped by 6% the past year.  Although a state by state analysis roaming the internet put California in neutral as far as migration goes, the moving statistics don't lie.  Allied, Atlas, and United all reported a 6% increase.  That's sizeable.  This column will end on this note of optimism; there are a lot of positive indicators, statistics, and trends on which to hang your positive outlook.  But an even more organic way of testing is people's attitudes, parking lots at malls and restaurants, durable goods sales and traffic.  All of these are moving in an upward direction, so as our cousins in England always say, "Keep Calm, and Carry On."  See you next month.