Because I am the eternal optimist...I have to share this blog from msnrealestate. Wall Street Journal online also has a similar post. I am hoping that the second headline about the rising foreclosures only prompts more buyers into the market to take advantage of what is an amazing time to purchase a home. If you already have a home...buy a second one. Got two? Buy a third. It will be worth it! I can go over that in detail with you.
Home resales jump 10% in September
But this month's foreclosure delays could erase all signs that a recovery had begun.
Posted by Mai Ling at MSN Real Estate on Monday, October 25, 2010 9:08 AM
Low home prices combined with some of the lowest mortgage interest rates ever lured more buyers back into the real-estate market in September as home resales rose 10% from the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors.
But because September was just the second straight month of increases after existing-home sales fell to their lowest level on record in July, home sales in September were 19.1% below the sales pace set in September 2009.
However, with October's moratorium on foreclosures slowing both home repossession and foreclosure sales across the nation, that upward trend could be short-lived.
"A housing recovery is taking place but will be choppy at times, depending on the duration and impact of a foreclosure moratorium," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist.
Sales of foreclosures made up of 35% of all existing-home sales in September, but that number is likely to fall in October after major lenders Bank of America, GMAC and JPMorgan Chase temporarily halted foreclosures while they reviewed whether paperwork was fraudulently processed.
And even though Bank of America and GMAC plan to resume processing foreclosures this week, foreclosures are unlikely to continue making such a big chunk of sales as buyers grow warier of their drawbacks.
Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's announcement that a federal review of the nation's biggest foreclosure lenders will be released next month is likely to have a chilling effect on buyers. Why buy now when you can wait for the results? And even then, the waiting game is likely to continue as the industry tries to figure out what it all means.
Home sales in September reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.53 million, compared with a downwardly revised 4.12 million in August and 5.60 million in September 2009.
Meanwhile, the number of homes for sale at the end of September declined 1.9% to 4.04 million units. At the current sales pace, it would take 10.7 months to sell all of those homes, which although still high is an improvement from a 12-month supply in August. A six-month supply is considered normal.
But a large number of homes for sale isn't such a bad thing for homebuyers, who benefit from not only a bigger selection, but also from having the upper hand at the negotiation table. In September, the median price paid for an existing home was $171,700, which is 2.4% below a year ago.
Existing-home sales made their biggest monthly gain in the Midwest with a 14.5% jump in September, but also took the hardest annual hit, with a decrease of 26.4% from a year ago. The median price was down 5.2% from September 2009, to $139,700.
In the South, existing-home sales rose 10.6% in September but were down 14.9% from September 2009; the median price was down 2.6% from a year ago, to $149,500. Home sales rose 10.1% in the Northeast but were down 20.8% year over year, with a median price of $239,200, down 1.4% from September 2009.
And in the West, existing-home sales rose 5% in September but were 16.7% below year-ago levels; the median price was $213,600, a decrease of 4.9% from September 2009.
Would you buy a foreclosure - or any home - right now? Check them out here
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