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Posts Tagged ‘Pending Home Sales,Existing Home Sales,NAR’

“Homes Under Contract” Plunge 12 Percent In April

Pending Home Sales 2009-2011

Hurt by foul weather and a soft market, the Pending Home Sales Index plunged 12 percent in April.

The monthly index is published by the National Association of REALTORS® and measures the number of homes on which new contracts have been written. 

It’s the association’s lone “forward-looking” report; meant to predict future, closed home sales. 80% of homes under contract close within 2 months.

Therefore, if the April Pending Home Sales Index is accurate, we should expect home sales to decline through June and July.

On a regional basis, “pending homes” varied. The Northeast Region posted growth. None others did.

  • Northeast Region: +1.7% from March
  • Midwest Region : -10.4% from March
  • South Region : -17.2% from March
  • West Region : -8.9% from March

But even regional data remains too broad to be useful to everyday buyers and sellers in the Scottsdale market. Housing is local and that means that each block, of each street, in each city has its own market and economy. Grouping 9 states into a single “region” is neither helpful nor relevant.

That said, we can’t ignore the data in its entirety.

Housing is believed to be a key component in the nation’s economic recovery. Fewer home sales will retard growth, and slower growth leads mortgage rates down.

Home Affordability hit record-highs last quarter, and should do the same in this one. Homes now sell at discounts to prior prices and mortgage financing is cheap. Buyers tend to be drawn to favorable markets such as this, and that will pressure home prices higher.

If you’re in the market for a home today, conditions look good. Talk to your real estate agent to gauge your options.

Related Articles:

Mark Taylor | Arizona Home Loans | Blarming | Will You Listen to Me | Arizona Short Sales | Arizona Foreclosures | Arizona FHA Loans | Arizona USDA Loans | Real Estate Websites | Arizona HUD Homes | Ariona VA Loans | Fix My Broken Credit | Arizona Mortgage | Arizona Short Sale | Power Ranch Bank Owned Homes


Pending Home Sales Rises To 6-Month High

Pending Home Sales (May 2009 - November 2010)The housing market continues to expand, and surprise.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, November’s Pending Home Sales Index gained 3 percent from October. A “pending home sale” is a home under contract but not yet closed. 

The index is now at its highest point since April 2010’s federal tax credit contract expiration deadline.

If the tax credit really did “borrow” sales from the summer months, as has been theorized, housing has rebuilt its foundation. 

We know this because, of all the housing data available to Scottsdale  homeowners and home buyers, the Pending Home Sales Index stands apart as a forward-looking report — its designed purpose as described in its methodology.

Because 80% of all homes under contract close within 60 days, and a statistically significant share of the rest close within months 3 and 4, the Pending Home Sales Index is an excellent predictor of future Existing Home Sales data.

This is in contrast to the New Home Sales data and Case-Shiller Index, as examples, which both describe the real estate market as it existed two months in the past. The Pending Home Sales Index reports on housing as it exists right now. We should expect January’s Existing Home Sales report, therefore, to show marked strength, consistent with a housing market recovery.

The downside of the Pending Home Sales Index is that it’s a national report and real estate is not sold nationally — it’s sold locally. To get a feel for your home market and how it’s faring, talk to a licensed real estate agent with access to local home sale data. 

If pending sales data is available, so much the better. Forward-looking figures can be more helpful than data that’s already old.

Related Articles:

Mark Taylor | Arizona Home Loans | Blarming | Will You Listen to Me | Arizona Short Sales | Arizona Foreclosures | Arizona FHA Loans | Arizona USDA Loans | Real Estate Websites | Arizona HUD Homes | Ariona VA Loans | Fix My Broken Credit | Arizona Mortgage | Arizona Short Sale | Power Ranch Bank Owned Homes