The Digital House Hunt….What kind of Buyer are You?
The Housing Recovery Ends the Year Strong
Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Services
Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. grew last month to the highest level in three years, putting the housing market on track to close out the year with its overall strongest sales since 2007.
Existing home sales increased 5.9% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. It was the strongest month since November 2009, when buyers were rushing to close sales to qualify for a federal tax credit.
Sales in November were 14.5% above the same month a year earlier, and the previous month’s figures were revised downward to a reading of 4.76 million from an originally reported 4.79 million.
The results, the 17th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in home sales, surpassed analysts’ forecasts. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast sales would rise by 2.3% from the originally reported October figure to a pace of 4.90 million.
Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, said the housing market has been strongest at the higher end, with sales of homes above $750,000 rising by more than 50% from a year earlier. By contrast, sales of homes priced below $100,000 were down nearly 4% from a year ago, amid a shrinking supply of discounted foreclosures.
With home sales picking up, the number of homes on the market is falling. At the end of November the inventory of previously owned homes listed for sale contracted to 2.03 million. the lowest level since December 2001. That represented a 4.8-month supply at the current sales pace, the smallest supply since September 2005.
The housing market helped pulled the economy into the recession that started in December 2007 and was a drag on the early part of the recovery. However, it has contributed to growth for the past six quarters, adding 0.31 percentage point to the revised 3.1 growth rate in the July-September quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
With the housing market climbing back, builders are getting more optimistic. The National Association of Home Builders said earlier in the week that its housing market index rose to the strongest reading since April 2006.
National Association of Realtors Homebuyer/ Seller Profile
Looking Ahead to 2012
The beginning of a new year is always a time to reflect and consider goals and opportunities for the year ahead. As we begin 2012, there are many reasons for encouragement when it comes to the economy and real estate. If recent economic and real estate trends are any indication, 2012 will be a year when good things can happen not only for potential homebuyers and sellers, but for the country as a whole.
For example:
- Existing-home sales rose again in November, and remain at levels above those of a year ago. What’s more, pending home sales also continued to gain in November, reaching the highest level in 19 months, an indication that there will be more future sales.
- In November, sales of new single-family houses rose 1.6 percent from October and were 9.8 percent above November 2010. Additionally, housing starts surged to a one-and-a-half year high in November, and permits for future construction were the highest since March 2010.
- In a sign that the overall economy is strengthening, U.S. employment has grown solidly for the past six months, generating 100,000 jobs or more in each month for the first time since April 2006.
- The Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators showed two months of solid gains, signaling that the economy was gaining momentum and the risks of a recession were receding, and its Consumer Confidence Index improved to levels seen in April 2011.