Sales are the uproar for the economic housing situation this week.
Residential sales and pending sales are adequately increasing and a rebounding real estate market could soon start stimulating the economy.
Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress last week that essentially the worst is over, the housing market is stabilizing, and we're heading out of recession in the second half of the year.
Pending home sales heightened by 6.7 percent in April. April made the third consecutive month of significant increases. April was the highest pending sale total for any month in the last seven years.
In the Northeast region, pending sales rocketed upwards during April by an astounding 33 percent. In the Midwest, they increased by just under 10 percent, and the Western region by only two percent. The southern region is the only region that sales declined, although it was only by two tenths of one percent!
Closed sales also are moving up quickly. In Las Vegas, sales advanced by 36 percent during April, which was the highest in two years, according to MDA DataQuick researchers.
The disadvantage of this situation is that most of these sales were distressed properties-- foreclosured or bank-owned properties. 75 percent of all Las Vegas area sales fit into that category in April.
On the mortgage side, applications to purchase homes continued to ascend last week by up to 4.3 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Although the mortgage rates are at record lows, it's becoming increasingly clear that low mortgage rates are not going to be around forever. Average thirty year fixed rates took their biggest jump in half a year last week.
The average rate for 30 year fixed topped five and a quarter percent, up from 4.8 percent the week before. And 15 year rates went to 4.8 percent from 4.4 percent.
Therefore, if you are in a position to buy and have been thinking about making your move, you should seriously consider making that move sooner rather than later. Doing so can guarantee the lower mortgage rates.
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