Tri-Cities Housing Stats through May, 2010

This month I’m going to focus on a graph that is frankly, frightening, unless you understand some of the whys and wherefores that surround it.

Aaaaaaahh! See? Scary! The 2010 line takes a sharp turn and plummets down in the month of May. If you just glance at it, it appears as if the market has taken a heretofore ungraphed tumble. Even September into October and November of ’09, which saw a decline, did not turn at a right angle like May of 2010 did.

So why is this not as alarming a situation as it appears? Because we are coming off of a banner January through April. Sales were at, on average, 146% of the same month the year before. And, just like we don’t trumpet a significant increase in one month’s sales as a sign that All Is Good And Bright On The Horizon, neither is an decrease of 47% over the same month from last year a sign of the Apocalypse.

Related: Real Estate Tax Credit: Its Effect on the Tri-Cities Market