Is the headline on the front page of today’s Inquirer & Mirror. An excerpt of the article follows, courtesy of the I&M.
By Joshua Balling
I&M Assistant Editor
With the first two months now in the books, the island real-estate market appears poised for at least a minor rebound over last year’s significant downturn.
While January started off slow, the first two months of the year saw just over $62.7 million in property change hands in roughly 30 transactions, buoyed by the $19.2 million sale of a sprawling – and unfinished – 22-room Polpis estate and a number of other high-end sales. That’s a 74 percent increase compared to the $36.1 million on 33 sales through the end of February 2009, but a 44 percent decrease from the $111.5 million on 52 sales through the first two months of 2008.
Overall, just over $445 million in property changed hands in 2009, down 22 percent from the previous year.
Island real estate agents are also heartened by the number of properties under agreement across all sectors, which earlier this week numbered about 45.