One of our developers asked this week, why are we seeing higher priced homes moving now? Interesting question, given the doom and gloom in the media.

But we are definitely seeing this play out in our sales for July and August, with less sales and traffic at entry-level price points and more sales and traffic at our properties that are priced from $500K to $1M and up.

We put our heads together at Matrix and came up with these three reasons that higher priced homes are selling now:

1. People who have the means to purchase now think that the market has hit the bottom. They are more accepting of today's market, they have adjusted their investments and they are getting off the fence.

2. A lot of the buyers we are seeing between $500K and $1M are cash buyers, they don't have to get financing in order to purchase.

3. The effect of the first-time buyers is trickling up. The first-time buyer credit allowed people to purchase homes in the low-to-mid price range, so those sellers can now move up and purchase at the next higher price point.

Are you seeing this trend in your neighborhood, with your own real estate or with your friends and family?