Anyone remotely interested in the real estate market has undoubtedtly heard that we've been on a bit of a roll lately.
Well, this month, the trend continues...Pending home sales index (calculated on contracts signed in July) rose another 3.2% this month. As I have said before, we're not out of the woods just yet. As the expression goes, "One month does not a trend make," but we have definitely seen a consistent trend in the market since early 2009.
For some perspective...
- Our current index is 12.0% higher than the level experienced last July
- The index has not been this high since June of 2007
(which is the month prior to activity really starting to drop off a few years ago)
"How are things locally?" you may ask. Quite well...
Here are the statistics on the Pending Home Sales Index by region:
- The Northeast declined 3.0% but is 4.7% higher than July 2008
- The Midwest slipped 2.0% but is 8.1% above a year ago.
- The South rose 3.1% and is 12.0% above July 2008.
- The West jumped 12.1% and is 20.0% above a year ago.
If you've been waiting to buy towards the end of the year in order to take advantage of the tax credits that expire at the end of November, (NAR estimates that b/t 1.8 - 2.0 million first-time buyers will take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit - resulting in around 350,000 additional sales that would not have occurred w/out the credit), you better get going...
As reported by RISMEDIA, "Buyers have little time to act because they must complete the transaction by November 30, 2009 to qualify for the credit. Unless extended, contracts signed but not completed by that date will not be eligible- it is taking approximately two months to complete home sales in the current market."
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