Sales and closing prices of existing U.S. homes grew in April and listed inventory fell, indicating a strengthening recovery, according to data released today by the National Association of Realtors.
Completed sales on existing homes increased 3.4 percent from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in April 2012. Sales are up 10 percent from the 4.2 million rate recorded in April 2011. [more]
New Jersey real estate agents are saying that the winter time is not as quiet as people think, according to NJ.com.
“There’s a misunderstanding that winter is quiet,” said Andrea Webb, an agent with Keller Williams in Montclair.
Starting last month, New Jersey agents are preparing for the spring market, decompressing, networking and taking continuing education courses. And some are encouraging sellers to list their homes during a time when there is generally less competition. [more]
Existing home sales increased 4 percent in November, according to a report released today by the National Association of Realtors, which also revised four years worth of data the organization previously announced was errant.
NAR downwardly revised existing home sales statistics dating back to 2007 by more than 14 percent. The association said the bad data stemmed from a previously unnoticed increase in the number of people that use brokers, and therefore an unaccounted for change in the market share that the multiple listing services throughout the country capture. – Adam Fusfeld [more]
Sales of existing homes rose in October, but remained stuck at a low level, according to a report released today by the National Association of Realtors, which noted that contract failures played a large role in the stagnant market.
Existing sales increased 1.4 percent from September and 13.5 percent from October 2010 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million units.
“Home sales have been stuck in a narrow range despite several improving factors that generally lead to higher home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “A higher rate of contract failures has held back a sales recovery.” – Adam Fusfeld
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Most metropolitan areas experienced annual price declines in home prices in the third quarter, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors. In 111 of the 150 metro areas it tracks, the NAR found price declines, compared to 109 experiencing annual declines in the second quarter.
But seasonally adjusted sales volume increased 17 percent compared to the prior year quarter, though it slipped a tenth of a percent from the second quarter rate.
“Home sales need to recover first — only then can prices stabilize,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the NAR. – Adam Fusfeld [more]
U.S. pending home sales declined unexpectedly in September, according to data released today by the National Association of Realtors, as buyers faced tight lending restrictions.
The Pending Home Sales Index, an indicator based on contract signings, fell 4.6 percent to 84.5 in September from 88.6 in August, but is 6.4 percent higher than September 2010 when it stood at 79.4. In the Northeast, the index declined 4.7 percent to 60.6 in September, but is 4 percent above September 2010.
A drop in pending sales reflects the fact that the housing market is being excessively constrained, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR. — Katherine Clarke [more]
Are homebuyers walking away in droves from the contracts they’ve signed? Or are they essentially
fouling out of the game, unable to close deals because of financing and credit issues?
Whatever the answer, this much appears to be certain: Exceptionally large numbers of signed real estate
contracts fell apart last month, failing to reach settlement. According to the National Association of
Realtors, one of every six real estate agents polled in June reported having signed contracts canceled
before closing — up from just one in 25 the month before. The typical monthly cancellations rate over
the course of the past 16 months has ranged in a narrow band between 8 percent and 10 percent.
What’s going on here? Lawrence Yun, the chief economist of NAR, said the sudden spike is surprising
and worrisome, and that there are no hard statistics available on the causes.
Comments
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has delayed the sale of hundreds of foreclosed properties, upsetting residential real estate agents desperate for their deals to close, the Wall Street Journal reported.
High demand for foreclosed properties caused HUD to run out of money needed to pay lawyers or others who manage the sales of foreclosed properties.
Over 540 properties in New England have been affected, and HUD is still unsure how many sales have been delayed nationally.
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National home sales slipped 3.8 percent month-over-month to an annual rate of 4.81 million units, the lowest number since November, according to figures released today by the National Association of Realtors. That is also 15 percent below a 5.68 million pace set in May 2010.
The association’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said the market was constrained by temporary factors as well as reluctance on behalf of the restrictive lending community. “Current housing market activity indicates a very slow pace of broader economic activity,” he said, “but recent reversals in oil prices are likely to mitigate the impact going forward. The pace of sales activity in the second half of the year is expected to be stronger than the first half.” –Katherine Clarke [more]
Pending home sales declined in April with regional variations following increases in February and March, according to April’s Pending Home Sales Index, released today by National Association of Realtors. The index, a forecasting indicator for the housing sector based on contract signings on existing homes, declined 11.6 percent to 81.9 in April from a downwardly revised 92.6 in March. The index is 26.5 percent less than the cyclical peak of 111.5, reached in April 2010, when buyers we scurrying to beat the contract deadline for the first time home buyer tax credit, the NAR said. Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist says the dip in contracts may be due to temporary factors including rising oil price, widespread severe weather with the heaviest precipitation in 20 years and a sudden hike in unemployment claims. TRD [more]
