Here's an interesting article from the National Association or Realtors that I wanted to share with you:
Sales of previously owned homes rose 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million, the National Association of Realtors said today.
The increase in sales sparked a rise in home prices. The median price for a new home rose to $173,100, up 4 percent from a year ago.
Mortgage fell last week to the lowest level for the year and close to 50-year lows as worries over the European debt crisis sent investors rushing into the safety of U.S. credit markets.
The tax credit's impact is expected to linger. While homeowners had to have a signed sales contract by April 30, buyers have until the end of June to complete their sales. The federal government provided offered first-time buyers a tax credit of up to $8,000. Homeowners looking to upgrade were able to qualify for a credit of up to $6,500.
Sales were up in all parts of the country except the West. The gains were led by a 21.1 percent jump in the Northeast and a 9.9 percent rise in the Midwest. Sales also rose 8.6 percent in the South.
The only region of the country that saw sales decline was the West, where sales dropped by 6.2 percent from March.
The big question facing the housing market is what happens now that the government's tax credits have expired.
Even with the rise in sales, the inventory of unsold homes increased in April to 4.04 million units. That would represent 8.4 months of supply of homes at the April sales pace. While that is down from inventory levels of 11 months at the depths of the housing crash, it is still above more normal inventory levels of around six months supply.
Kevin Dowd
Realtor
Prudential Castle Point Realty
203 Washington Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Cell: 201-606-5957
Email: info@hobokenjerseycity.com
Search MLS listings for free at: www.hobokenjerseycity.com
Has the market stabilized?
Get up-to-the-minute market reports:
www.hobokenpropertyvalue.com
www.jerseycitypropertyvalues.com
1 comment:
I've ever seen, you can include some more ideas in the same theme. I'm still waiting for some interesting thoughts from your side in the next post. One thing I just want to say is that your blog is so perfect!
Post a Comment