2014 is one-half month old now. What's the real estate market like?

Many people say that "calling" the real estate market this early in a new year isn't a good gauge of what's really happening. Personally, I usually see an uptick in activity by the end of the second week. Not this year. Not so far. I'm still seeing very short inventory in all price categories. I'm also not seeing lots and lots of new buyers, not yet anyway. And I'm also seeing buyers getting discouraged and dropping out. I think the perception of higher interest rates is to blame plus the no-inventory situation. However, interest rates haven't gone up that much. And yes, there is low inventory, but inventory has been low for the past several years. Because of last year's price rebounds, more people can afford to sell their homes this year. So stay tuned -- in real estate, the only thing constant is change.