Existing housing sales are up across the board.  Nearly every state, city and MSA are showing an increase in sales compared to this time last year.

This is good news.  Yes, there are a lot of foreclosed homes and short sales that are contributing to the sale numbers.  But the sooner those houses are off the market the sooner standard market forces will apply.  (Some would argue that standard market forces apply no matter what type of sale it is.)

Most economists agree these statistics are encouraging but they are quick to point out that they do not expect a sharp turn upward anytime soon.  Many feel that housing numbers will bounce around for a while creating a bottom and only then will a significant uptrend in sales and home valued begin.

But for those looking to buy land and develop it, a bottoming in the housing market may be all you need to start tying up land again.  Lead times on residential real estate developments of any decent size are taking 1 to 2 years to get permitted and completed and so a bottom here could be an uptrend by the time your product comes to market.

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Many feel that the commercial real estate market will recover before residential – primarily because of the severity of the housing market’s problems – not due to any saving grace of the commercial sector.  And this recent Reuters article is the latest in a string of good news I have been hearing to add weight to this belief.



http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1430571420090814



The sooner money becomes more accessible, the sooner more transactions can occur.  More transactions mean more points of reference for investors and more confidence in the valuation of properties and real estate.



And in fact, I am hearing from developers who feel the time to capitalize on this opportunity is near.



It can take 2 and 3 years for any significant  real estate development project to go from land acquisition to completed sellable product.  Developers understand this long lead time and are looking for signs of turnarounds not just in their local areas but in any part of the US.  The rationale is that even if their local market is slow to bounce back, 2 or 3 years will provide ample time to “catch up” to the leading areas of the country.



So a green light in California, may be all that is needed to spur development in other parts of the U.S. as well.





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