Macomb County MI real estate - 1st time home buyers info & advice

As I read through the statistical reports for Macomb County yesterday and this morning I tried
to get a feel for what I am seeing and analyzing.

2009 was indeed a tough year for home prices in the county as a whole, with the average sales
price of a single family residential home plunging by 22.5%.   Looking at the sales prices recorded
in the month December there seemed to be a bit of stabilization:  There was only a 2.7% drop in
sales prices when looking at December 2009 compared to the sales prices in December of 2008.

One months worths of sales prices in comparison to the previous years for the same month
however doesn't predict a trend. Yet when I look at the 4th quarter of 2009 I am encouraged:

This is the smallest difference in reported sales prices that I have seen in years.  It is also encouraging
to me because if this trend holds we may be starting to see some stabilization in the freefall of prices
that have it our region of Michigan so hard during the last several years.

A couple of things need to happen to ensure that this stabilization occurs:   Job loss needs to be
nipped in the bud, and there cannot be an increase of foreclosures to hit our real estate market again.

Over the next week or so I will be posting more comprehensive sales analysis for each section of Macomb
County.  (For example:  How the city of Eastpointe is doing in comparision to Shelby Township, etc.)
In the meantime, if you would like a detailed analysis of how your neighborhood is faring please don't
hesitate to contact me for a no obligation market report.  No pressure - just conversation.