Below are some interesting highlights from a news update published by The National Association of Realtors
- Home Buyer Tax Credit Increases Activity
NAR President Charles McMillan says home shopping activity has picked up with housing affordability at a record high.
“The number of buyers looking for homes rose 5 percent in February, and also was 5 percent above a year ago,” he says. “It appears most of the increase in buyer traffic occurred in the latter part of the month after the $8000 first time buyer tax credit was put in place. At the same time, mortgage purchase applications have risen, so we expect to see sales picking up around late spring.”
More potential buyers are learning about the tax credit, just as the spring home-buying season begins.
- Housing inventory: Total housing inventory at the end of February rose 5.2 percent to 3.80 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.7-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from January. In the six months prior to February, the total number of homes for sale had steadily declined from a record level last July.
- Northeast: Home slaes jumped 15.6 percent to an annual pace of 740,000 in February, however the median price of a home was down 4.8% to $251,200
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