Pending Sales of Existing Homes Rise 5.3%
Posted by Steve Schmidt on May 4, 2010
By Shobhana Chandra – Bloomberg BusinessWeek – May 4, 2010
More Americans signed contracts in March to buy previously owned homes before the expiration of a tax credit that has helped support the housing market.
The housing market, which triggered the worst recession since the 1930s, has received a boost from a tax incentive of as much as $8,000 for buyers who signed the contracts by the end of April. Job gains are needed to help sustain demand and limit foreclosures in the absence of government aid, broadening the economic recovery.
“More people came in to beat the rush,” Stephen Gallagher, chief U.S. economist at Societe Generale SA in New York, said before the report. “Sales are rising at a pretty healthy clip. There’s growing confidence that the job market has bottomed out and is crawling up again.”
Sales were projected to rise in March after an originally reported gain of 8.2 percent in February, according to the median of 39 forecasts in the Bloomberg survey. Estimates ranged from gains of 0.9 percent to 9 percent.
Orders placed with U.S. factories unexpectedly rose in March, propelled by demand for business equipment and petroleum, signaling the economic expansion gained speed at the end of the first quarter.
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By Shobhana Chandra
May 4 (Bloomberg) — More Americans signed contracts in March to buy previously owned homes before the expiration of a tax credit that has helped support the housing market.
The housing market, which triggered the worst recession since the 1930s, has received a boost from a tax incentive of as much as $8,000 for buyers who signed the contracts by the end of April. Job gains are needed to help sustain demand and limit foreclosures in the absence of government aid, broadening the economic recovery.
“More people came in to beat the rush,” Stephen Gallagher, chief U.S. economist at Societe Generale SA in New York, said before the report. “Sales are rising at a pretty healthy clip. There’s growing confidence that the job market has bottomed out and is crawling up again.”
Sales were projected to rise in March after an originally reported gain of 8.2 percent in February, according to the median of 39 forecasts in the Bloomberg survey. Estimates ranged from gains of 0.9 percent to 9 percent.
Orders placed with U.S. factories unexpectedly rose in March, propelled by demand for business equipment and petroleum, signaling the economic expansion gained speed at the end of the first quarter.
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