When corporate leaders seek to communicate good news on their company’s performance, they frequently reach for the ‘R’ word: “robust.” Sales are robust; production is robust; future prospects are robust, etc. The ‘R’ word performs the near-miraculous feat of conveying strength, energy, and accomplishment —all without having to come up with specifics.

Especially in earnings guidance season, you see the ‘R’ word a lot.

So it was surprising that last week’s widely quoted tidings about existing home sales (which were very good tidings, indeed) included the ‘R’ word at all. The news—at least as cited by The World Property Journal—hardly needed the vocabulary assist. The details alone were astonishingly favorable. “U.S. Home Sales Spike in August, Highest Levels Since December 2006” was the 30-point headline—followed by the equally striking subhead: “Median home prices nationwide also hit record-setting $310,000.”

The supporting statistics described existing home sales that, per the National Association of Realtors^® Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun, “continue to amaze.” The median $310,000 price amounted to an 11.4% increase from a year earlier—which also marked the 102^nd straight month of year-over-year gains. The volume of sales as a whole wasn’t just up from the previous year—it constituted an increase of 10.5%!

The reason the ‘R’ word had been summoned at all was in the course of explaining the gang-busters performance: “Housing demand is robust,” said Dr. Yuan, “but supply is not.” It might have been the first time the ‘R’ word had ever been reported Missing in Action.

With prices said to be rising “in every region,” existing St. Cloud homeowners can be forgiven if they suspect that their own property’s market value is likely to have been growing, as well. That could incent some into looking harder at the outlook should they decide to put their homes on the market sooner rather than later. If that makes sense for you, the simple first step is to see what the local comparables are achieving. Call me for a thorough up-to-the-minute report—I’d be pleased to assemble one for you—of course, with no obligation!

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