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Auction.com has revised its March Real Estate Nowcast and now projects that existing home sales for the month will fall between seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of 4.9 and 5.22 million, with a targeted number of 5.06 million.
Based on the latest Google Trends data and updated housing market data tracked by Auction.com – which together indicate a shift in March home sales – the adjusted Auction.com Nowcast projections are slightly higher than those released on March 24. The original nowcast called for a range between 4.83 and 5.12 million, with a targeted number of 4.97 million.
“We’ve seen two consecutive months of strong Pending Home Sales reports from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and what we’re seeing in both Google Trends data and our own online transactional data indicates that we can expect a stronger March than originally projected,” Auction.com EVP Rick Sharga said. “Existing home sales have been improving, but at a fairly tepid rate. After starting 2015 with two awfully lackluster months, March may usher in a more exciting spring selling season for the housing market.”
The latest data on pending homes sales released by the NAR showed sales soared in February to their highest level since June 2013. The Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.1 percent to 106.9 in February from a slight downward revision of 103.7 in January and is 12 percent about the February 2014 number of 95.4. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the sales improved due to an improving labor market and low mortgage rates.
“These factors bode well for the prospect of an uptick in sales in coming months,” he said “However, the underlying obstacle – especially for first-time buyers – continues to be the depressed level of homes available for sale.
