Big news for the housing industry.
Local realtors says the market is on the upswing after years of dismal business.
Despite a slow economy Jason and Carla Mead sold their house about three months ago for their asking price. Surprised? So were they.
Jason Mead:"I was shocked how fast it went actually."
Then they started looking for a new one.
Mead: "I wanted a three car garage, she wanted all the bedrooms on the same floor."
But then something unexpected happened, they couldn't find it.
Mead: "As we were looking, the houses were getting bought up so fast -- when we'd find something we'd like-- it was gone."
That's something realtor Robert Dowding says is no surprise..
Dowding: "For me to be competing with 2 or three other buyers on houses is something that we're seeing on a daily basis."
Dowding says homes are now moving faster than they have in years.
Dowding: "Buyers are getting to the point now where they were waiting to get to the bottom, waiting to get that best deal and finding out that now it might now get better than where we're at."
That's why he's advising buyers to come prepared.
Dowding: "We're talking to buyers saying be pre-approved, have your down payment ready, have all your ducks in a row so that when we walk into the house for the first time-- you're ready to buy it if you like it because you might not be able to wait."
Something Jason and Carla saw first-hand.
Mead: "I really thought there would be an over-abundance of inventory where we could pick and choose and lowball it and scoop it up."
But Dowding says not anymore.
Dowding: "We're seeing a huge decrease in the amount of inventory. We're not seeing the prices go down, in some markets we're actually seeing the prices go back up."
That's why Dowding says if you're looking to sell, now is the time.
As for the Mead's, they've decided to build their house since the houses they liked were scooped up in no time.
Dowding says in 2009 there was about 2 years worth of inventory on the market for the average house,
right now he says there's only about 10 months.
