Existing Home Sales Up In April

WASHINGTON (May 24, 2010) – Existing-home sales rose again in April with buyers motivated by the tax credit, improving consumer confidence and favorable affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales¹, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million units in April from an upwardly revised 5.36 million in March, and are 22.8 percent higher than the 4.70 million-unit pace in April 2009. Monthly sales rose 7.0 percent in March.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the gain was widely anticipated. “The upswing in April existing-home sales was expected because of the tax credit inducement, and no doubt there will be some temporary fallback in the months immediately after it expires, but other factors also are supporting the market,” he said. “For people who were on the sidelines, there’s been a return of buyer confidence with stabilizing home prices, an improving economy and mortgage interest rates that remain historically low.”

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Is It More Prudent to Buy or Rent?

Buying a home has many advantages, however, renting comes with few strings attached

By Vanessa Wong – Bloomberg Businessweek
June 3, 2010

To rent or to buy? For millions of Americans, that is the question. The recent housing boom and subsequent bust seem to provide a clear answer—that given an affordable mortgage, we would all rather be buyers.

With the piercing clarity that is 20-20 hindsight, many people burned by the mortgage market may now think differently.  After all, you can’t be foreclosed on if you don’t own in the first place.  For them, renting has become not only the smart move, but the only sensible one

“Many Americans are questioning if home ownership is an inherent element of their dream,” says Tara-Nicholle Nelson, real estate consumer advocate for real estate website Trulia. Part of that dream is also based on economic common sense.

Besides stability and status, owning a home can help build equity, improve credit ratings, and be a tax deduction. Given these benefits, the dream of home ownership is hard to give up, though. Much as sales of gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs are rebounding, Americans seem to need only the slightest nudge to jump back into the housing market.

In April, sales of existing homes rose 7.6 percent nationwide, according to the National Association of Realtors. For new homes, sales surged 14.8 percent, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

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Florida’s Existing Home Sales Increase for 17th Straight Month

ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 26, 2010 – Florida’s existing home sales rose in January, marking 17 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.

Existing home sales increased 24 percent last month with a total of 10,465 homes sold statewide compared to 8,444 homes sold in January 2009, according to Florida Realtors. January’s statewide sales of existing condos rose 81 percent compared to the previous year’s sales figure.

Existing Home Sales Up 24%

Sixteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing home sales in January; all MSAs had higher condo sales. A majority of the state’s MSAs have reported increased sales for 19 consecutive months.

“Now is the time for anyone thinking of buying a home in Florida to make that decision,” said 2010 Florida Realtors President Wendell Davis, a broker and regional vice president with Watson Realty Corp. in Jacksonville. “Markets across the state are seeing increased sales, yet conditions remain very favorable with still-low mortgage rates, a range of housing inventory and attractive prices.

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Housing News Sends Stocks Higher

By Steve Shaeffer – Forbes.com – February 2, 20010, 12:45 PM EST

Aside from some wobbles around the opening bell, Wall Street rallied Tuesday to extend Monday’s gains.

The biggest news came out of the housing space, where a key indicator for home sales offered an encouraging sign and a builder posted its first profit in nearly three years.

The National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index, which measures signed contracts and is considered a strong predictor of sales in coming months, inched up 1% in December to 96.6.

Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that while the home-buyer tax credit has produced some swings in contract activity, the underlying trend over the past year has been one of improvement, a view reinforced by fourth-quarter results from D.R. Horton ( DHI – news – people ).

Shares of the home builder jumped 10.9% after it reported its first quarterly profit since 2007. (See “D.R. Horton Builds A Profit.”) D.R. Horton said new orders and completed sales increased significantly in the quarter.

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Expanded Homebuyer Tax Credit: Small Window, Big Opportunity

Island home prices are at the lowest level in years and interest rates are still hovering around the 5 percent range  This is an excellent time to include the expanded U. S. Homebuyer Tax Credit into the mix and purchase a new (or second) home before April 30.
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RISMEDIA, January 8, 2010—

The countdown is under way.  As of January 1, you have four months to take advantage of the expanded U. S. Homebuyer Tax Credit by the April 30 deadline.

Available Tax Credit

Fueled by the original November 30, 2009 deadline, sales of existing homes had increased steadily since April, with the exception of a slight dip in August. NAR surveys show that about 30% of all closed transactions during that period involved first-time buyers.

In November, Congress extended the tax credit and amended it to include some repeat buyers in hopes of securing a more sustained real estate upswing. However, the narrow window suggests none of us should count on another extension.