homesmillbrae.com » Contract Activity

US Pending Home Sales Tick Upward in March

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:54:53 +0000

“Contract activity has been in a narrow range in recent months, not from a pause in demand but because of limited supply,” said Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun in a release. “Little movement is expected in the near-term sales closings, but they should edge up modestly as the year progresses.

(Read More: Despite Rising Demand, Some Builders Slow Production)

Listings were down 17 percent in March from a year earlier, according to the association, with several factors affecting inventories. Millions of Americans still owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, and that makes it impossible for them to move without incurring major expense.

Others are watching home prices rise and may be waiting to see just how high they go before listing their homes.

Meanwhile, home builders, while trying to ramp up production, are faced with a lack of land, labor and materials. Single-family starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of just 619,000 units, an improvement from the worst of the crash but far below historical norms.

(Read More: Map: Tracking the US Real Estate Recovery)

Regionally, the pending home sales index was unchanged in the Northeast from February, up 0.3 percent in the Midwest, up 2.7 percent in the South and up 1.5 percent in the West.

Existing home sales in March, based on closings, fell just under one percent in March. While higher than a year ago, home sales appear to have leveled off, despite this being the normally busy spring season.

(Read More: Government Mortgage Fix Is Failing)

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100683911

Pending Home Sales Barely Budge in September

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:36:09 +0000

In a sign of a still struggling housing market, signed contracts to buy existing homes were essentially flat in September from August, edging up just 0.3 percent according to a monthly index from the National Association of Realtors.

The index is 14.5 percent above September of 2011. Closings, the final stage of an existing home sale, fell in September, with Realtors continuing to cite tight credit as a headwind to recovery.

“Home contract activity remains at an elevated level in contrast with recent years, but currently appears to be bouncing around in a narrow range,” wrote NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun in a release. “This means only minor movement is likely in near-term existing-home sales, but with positive underlying market fundamentals they should continue on an uptrend in 2013.”

Contract activity has increased on an annual basis for seventeen straight months, but is fluctuating month to month and region to region. The Realtors’ index of so-called pending home sales rose 1.4 percent month-to-month in the Northeast, fell 5.8 percent in the Midwest, rose 1 percent in the South and rose 4.3 percent in the West. The western region, which includes some of the hardest hit states of the housing crash, was the only region to see nearly flat gains from a year ago. That is do to low supplies of distressed properties.

(Read More: Is There a Housing Shortage?)

Investors have focused their attention and cash on formerly hard hit cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas and several California cities.

The National Association of Realtors estimates that completed existing home sales in 2012 will total close to 4.6 million, an increase of 9 percent from 2011. Lower housing inventories, they also predict, should push existing home prices up 6 percent this year nationally.

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Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/49551005?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS

Pending Home Sales Beat Expectations in July

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:07:57 +0000

Despite expectations of a drop-off in home sales this fall, a forward-looking indicator shows a growing number of buyers are jumping back into the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index rose 2.4 percent in July from June and is now 12.4 percent higher than it was a year ago. This index, which measures signed contracts to buy existing homes, is now at its highest level since April of 2010, just before the end of the home buyer tax credit.
“While the month-to-month movement has been uneven, more importantly we now have 15 consecutive months of year-over-year gains in contract activity,” said the Realtors’ chief economist, Lawrence Yun.

All regions saw gains in signed contracts for the West, where the bulk of the distress in the housing market has been. Foreclosures have been in high demand from investors, who are looking to cash in on the hot single family rental market.

That demand has pushed home prices higher in markets like Phoenix, Ariz., but it has also pushed supplies far lower. Yun said the West is now experiencing an, “acute inventory shortage.”

The association is projecting existing home sales to rise 8 to 9 percent in 2012 with another 7 to 8-percent gain in 2013. Analysts are split as to whether growing demand for housing will result in more home purchases or continued growth in the rental market. Credit remains tight, and many potential move-up buyers still owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth.

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Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/48826211?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS