The National Association of Realtors has reported some upbeat and positive move for owners seeking to sell their homes. An article at RIS Media, "Existing-Home Sales Show Strong Gain In December" sums it up nicely, with Lawrence Yun, the NAR chief economist noting that there is a "pent-up" demand for homes... while economic conditions exist that are stalling the process of home buying and selling.
Here are some other interesting facts from the report, and for my friends here in the Western Region of the US, Seattle, Portland, the Pacific Coast... take note on the Regional trends below:
Mortgages:
Freddie Mac notes that the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.29% in December from 6.09% in November; the rate was 6.10% in December 2007. Last week, Freddie Mac reported a 30-year rate of 5.12%.
Home Sales:
Single-family home sales are 1.4% below a 4.32 million-unit pace from December 2007. For all of 2008, single-family sales fell 11.9% to 4,349,000.
Median Home Price:
The median existing single-family home price was $174,700 in December, down 14.8% from a year ago. For all of 2008, the single-family median was $197,100, which is 9.5% below 2007.
Regional Home Sales:
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast slipped 1.4% to an annual pace of 720,000 in December, and are 14.3% below December 2007. The median price in the Northeast was $235,000, which is 7.8% lower than a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 4.0% in December to a level of 1.04 million but are 10.3% below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $140,800, down 11.4% from December 2007.
In the South, existing-home sales rose 7.4% to an annual pace of 1.74 million in December, but are 11.2% lower than December 2007. The median price in the South was $158,600, which is down 8.0% from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the West jumped 13.6% to an annual rate of 1.25 million in December and are 31.6% higher than a year ago. The median price in the West was $213,100, down 31.5% from December 2007.
Will we begin to see a turn around in the Real Estate Market? Suze Ormon says that the current state of the economy is dependant upon it! What do you think?
Are you looking to buy or sell a home in the Greater Puget Sound area? Please feel free to give me a call! Julianna Hind, Keller Williams Real Estate 206-679-4768, or email me at julianna@kw.com
Comments(2)