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]
It’s not something that economists routinely track, but it provides a rough sense of what’s happening in local real estate markets. Call it the lowball index. A year ago, according to researchers at the National Association of Realtors, one out of 10 members surveyed in a monthly poll complained about lowball offers on houses listed for sale. In the latest survey — conducted during March among a sample of 4,500 agents and brokers across the country and not yet released — there were hardly any. Instead, the focus of volunteered comments has shifted to declining inventory levels — fewer houses available to sell — and multiple offers on well-priced listings. [more]
Lawrence Yun
Existing home prices in Florida could increase by as much as 10 percent by the end of this year, according to Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, the Palm Beach Post reported. “Compared to other parts of the country, the Florida market, particularly South Florida, is [recovering] very rapidly from oversupply to a shortage of inventory,” Yun said at a conference in Palm Beach. “That clearly implies we will begin to see some modest turnaround.” [Palm Beach Post]
What’s behind the unusually high rate of contract cancellations and settlement delays in the real estate market? With signs of recovery emerging in many parts of the country, shouldn’t deals be zipping along with minimal complications?
Apparently not. Nearly one-third of real estate agents in a new national survey reported experiencing contract cancellations — purchases crumbling before going to closing — in February. [more]
Thanks to the massive wave of foreclosures that swept across Florida, the state claims eight of the National Association of Realtor’s top 10 “Turnaround Towns.”
The report looks at which local markets experienced the greatest appreciation in median price and largest reductions in inventory age and inventory levels from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the same period in 2011. [more]
Real estate and financial professionals that closely track the National Association of Realtor’s monthly existing-home sales data are in for a rude awakening. The New York Post reported that the association has admitted it has been reporting bad figures for every month since January 2007 and will revise four years worth of data downward starting next Wednesday.
The NAR attributed the bad data to a statistical glitch that counted some homes twice, along with geographic population shifts and a decline in owners selling their own home. [more]
Pending home sales rose strongly nationwide in October, increasing by 9.2 percent year-over-year, according to the October pending home sales report from the National Association of Realtors, released today.
The Pending Home Sales Index, which measures signed real estate contracts for existing single-family homes, condominium and co-op units, rose to 93.3 in October from 84.5 in September. In October 2010, the index was 85.5.
The Pending Home Sales Index in the South surged 8.6 percent to 99.5 in October and was 9.7 percent above October 2010′s index. An index of 100 equals contract activity from 2001. – Guelda Voien [more]
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. — Adam Fusfeld [more]
Miami-Dade County followed the national trend in September, as pending home sales increased 11 percent from over a year ago to 11,296 but fell 5 percent from August, according to reports released today by the National Association of Realtors and the Miami Association of Realtors.
Nationally, the pending sales index decreased 4.6 percent month-over-month, but gained 6.4 percent from a year ago.
Meanwhile, pending sales in Broward County reached 7,693 in September, 0.3 percent below September 2010 levels and 3 percent below August’s number. – Adam Fusfeld [more]
The National Association of Realtors is warning that homebuyers are already being pushed out of the market because of a recent drop in the maximum size of government-backed home loans, the Wall Street Journal reported. The reduced limits — $625,500 in expensive markets such as New York, down from $729,75 before October– went into effect early this month and are impacting loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration. NAR surveyed 1,300 real estate agents on the subject and discovered that about half said they represented buyers whose search for a home had been hindered by the reduced limits. [more]
