Only two months left in 2008 and the October 2008 Statistics are in.   It’s more of the same, but does not seem to be getting worse.  Sales are up from September, on par with last October and down when comparing overall YTD 2007 and 2008.  What is your take on the market?  Share your comments with us by replying to this blog.  We love to hear from you whether your comments are positive or negative.

Currently there are 163 Active Condominiums on the market, 2 in Escrow this month and 6 Sold.  Compared to last year we are down 5% in active units on the market, down 71% in escrows and even with last year on solds.  Take these same numbers and compare them to the previous month (September 2008) and we are down 3% in active units, down 300% in escrows and up 100% in sold units.

For Freestanding condominiums or PUD’s we are currently at 54 active units, 3 escrows and 2 sold for the month.  Compared to October 2007 we are down 22% in active, down 57% in escrows and even with last year on solds.  Again, if we compare to September 2008 we are down 13% in number of units, down 233% in number of escrows and up 50% in solds.

There are currently 264 Single Family Residences for sale, 9 escrows for the month and 6 solds.  Compared to October 2007 that is up 17 in active units, down 36% in number of escrows for the month and down 54% in sales.  Comparing September 2008 we are down 2% in number of active units for sale, down 33% in number of escrows and down 33% in number sold.

Let’s take these numbers one step further and compare YTD 2007 and 2008 sales only.  Surprise, surprise, we are down in all categories.  Condominiums sales down 42%, PUD’s down 95%, Single Family Residences are down 57% and iIvestment Properties are down 50% .

We know what your #1 question is and only a crystal ball will tell when we have actually hit the bottom and are on the rise again.  We pose the Million dollar question to you…”Is it better to buy one day too early than one too day to late?”  The answer is usually ‘YES’ as once the curve has started back on the rise, only the tru investors who purchased at the bottom will be able to take full advantage of the market.  For you investors out there, there are some great deals in Incline with foreclosures and short sales on the rise, and actually some ‘REAL’ sellers out there too who really want to sell.

To drill down the specific numbers and also check out which price bands have the most activity, see our Market Data Retrieval for October 2008 by clicking here.