Austin TX could be looking even better..........

The news release from the Board of Realtors actually has some positives in it. This should not be such big news to me, but given the amazing amount of "less than positive" statistics many realty associations spew out, it is at the point of pleasant surprise.

Yet, the picture could still have been painted brighter. This is the news release they sent out:

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AUSTIN (Austin Board of Realtors) – According to the Multiple Listing Service report by the Austin Board of Realtors, the volume of home sales in the Austin market surged last month, possibly because of the tax credit for first-time homebuyers.
Last month, 1,823 homes were sold, a 38 percent increase from 1,322 in October 2008. The median price of Austin homes in October 2009 was $182,000, a 5 percent decrease from the same month the previous year.
In the early part of this year, the home sales volume in Austin was down significantly compared with 2008. However, that gap in sales volume began to close in July 2009 when the local market reached a volume similar to the same month in the year prior.
“Sales volume like this is similar to what we saw in 2005, which is an encouraging sign,” said Jay Gohil, chairman of the Austin Board of Realtors. “It’s possible some of this surge in volume was related to the original deadline for the first-time homebuyer tax credit, so it’s good for our market that the tax credit was both extended until April and expanded to include more current and prospective homeowners.”
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Again, I look at this type of news from a marketing perspective. The idea is, or should be, to make this information as positive as possible. This realty board exists to assist the dues paying realty agents and offices and to promote home and property ownership in the area.

But there is too much copy in this release that pulls this story back down. They don't know for a fact that the tax credit has any bearing on this information. The very last quote, from the Chairman of the Board, says "it's possible some of this surge.....". That is our final impression from this story - saying that there is a "possible" reason. Sorry, but facts are supposed to support statistics, not a theory.

It's not up to me, but to illustrate my point, here is how I might have released the same information they did, by doing some editing of this copy:

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AUSTIN (Austin Board of Realtors) – According to the Multiple Listing Service report by the Austin Board of Realtors, the volume of home sales in the Austin market has surged.

Last month, 1,823 homes were sold, a 38 percent increase from 1,322 in October 2008. The median price of Austin homes in October 2009 was $182,000, a 5 percent decrease from the same month the previous year. In the early part of this year, the home sales volume in Austin was down significantly compared with 2008.

“Sales volume like this is similar to what we saw in 2005, which is an encouraging sign,” said Jay Gohil, chairman of the Austin Board of Realtors. “It’s also good for our market that the tax credit was both extended until April and expanded to include more current and prospective homeowners.”
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Talk about addition by subtraction!