In 2008, Labor Day fell on September 1; this year, it fell on September 7. That six-day gap is enough to make our year-over-year comparisons of weekly market activity look a little goofy this week. For instance, for the week ending September 5, there were a whopping 42.9 percent more pending sales than there were a year ago, but this is only because Labor Day—a holiday that notoriously silences the local real estate market for several days—fell during that week last year and didn't this year. Expect similar confusion next week.
Independent of these numerical oddities, sales are still extremely robust as the days remaining on the first-time buyer tax credit continues to tick down. 78...77...76...
New metrics updated this week:
• Housing Affordability Index: At 195, it towers over last year's affordability by 29.1 percent. Falling prices continue to do their job, at least for buyers.
• Months Supply of Inventory: The 6.9 months of inventory available is 30.3 percent below this time last year.
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