Financial SourceGlobal Finance & Market News at FinancialSource.Org

Home sales and prices both posted modest increases in May, reflecting normal seasonal trends but also raising hopes that a more sustained recovery may finally be in sight.

Closed sales transactions were up 3.3 percent in May over April’s levels, the national real estate company RE/MAX reported today, while average sales prices were up by 3.7 percent. It was the third consecutive monthly price increase the company has reported and the first increase in sales since January.    “Home sales activity appears to be coming back in line with the seasonal trends we would expect to see this time of year,” said Margaret Kelly, RE/MAX CEO. “It’s a very good sign that prices are starting to rise on a monthly basis. This may indicate that we’ve turned the corner and are headed in a positive direction.”   Both home sales and prices continue to trail their levels of one year ago, although not as badly as in recent months. Home sales were Full Post…

Existing home sales rose for a third consecutive month in January, rising 2.7 percent on the strength of investors snapping up bargains in distressed properties.

January’s annual rate of 5.36 million home sales also represented a 5.3 percent annual gain over January 2010 figures, the first time in seven months that sales figures have exceeded those from one year earlier. The figures were released today by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).   “The uptrend in home sales is consistent with improvements in the economy and jobs, which are helping boost consumer confidence,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “The extremely favorable housing affordability conditions are a big factor, but buyers have been constrained by unnecessarily tight credit. As a result, there are abnormally high levels of all-cash purchases, along with rising investor activity.”   Investors accounted for 23 percent of all sales in January, up from 20 percent in December and from 17 percent one year earlier. All-cash sa Full Post…

U.S. home sales showed an annual increase for the first time in six months in January, although sales prices showed a significant decline over the same period.

January home sales were up 0.7 percent compared to January 2010, according to new survey figures from RE/MAX, although sales prices declined 4.6 percent over the same period. The price decline occurred despite a 5.6 percent drop in the inventory of homes for sale compared to one year ago, something that normally causes prices to rise.   “We’re very pleased that sales this January are higher than last January, and we’re hopeful that this indicates even higher sales this spring,” said RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly. “Although inventories have been steadily shrinking for months, an increase in foreclosure activity could reverse this trend and produce additional pressure on prices.”   January’s figures marked the first time that monthly home sales showed an annual improvement since last June, when sales fell off sharply following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit.   The trend was Full Post…

Pending and contingent home sales data are very important metrics when determining how strong real estate sales will be in the months ahead. I like to carefully review this information for each of the communities where I am most active on at least a monthly basis as it gives me a heads up on what the future might bring for my clients. 

When a bilateral contract is entered into there are typically contingencies, historically mainly for home inspections and financing, but in today’s world more often that not they are short sales waiting for third party, or bank, approval. Once these contingencies are lifted the change should be properly recorded into the MLS system as “pending”. History  shows us that the large majority of pending listings will ultimately close, usually within the next two months. The volume of both contingent and pending listings is a good leading indicator of what we can expect in closed sales of Jupiter homes in the weeks ahead.

Over the past 30 days in Jupiter we have seen a nice increase in pending home sales with 89 on January 15th up from the 82 we had on December 15th. These n

Full Post…

Pending home sales rose modestly in July, two months after taking a steep plunge that put the housing market into the doldrums.

Signed contracts for home sales rose 5.2 percent in July, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported today, the first sign that the housing market is recovering from the end of the homebuyer tax credit. Pending sales plunged nearly 30 percent in May and another 2.8 percent in June after the credit expired. The report was a spark of good news for the battered housing market. Analysts had expected a decline of 1-2 percent.  Pending sales are considered a leading indicator, preceding actual sales – meaning closings – by one to two months, and the unexpected boost suggests the hangover from the end of the tax credit may be less severe than expected.   Home sales were brisk in the early months of the year, and most analysts believe the tax credit spurred many buyers to act sooner than they might have otherwise. As a r Full Post…