Tag Archives: Existing-Home Sales

Existing-home sales rose 5.9 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Economists had expected the sales pace to improve to 4.9 million. The increase in sales in November was the fourth in the last six months, following a similar pattern from 2011. According to the NAR's data, November existing-home sales--closed transactions--were up 14.5 percent from one year earlier.

Home sales in California displayed a typical seasonal decline in November and fell month-over-month, but the median price posted both monthly and yearly gains, San Diego-based DataQuick reported. About 37,481 new and existing homes were sold in November, representing a 4.5 percent decline from October, but a 14.7 percent increase from November 2011, according to DataQuick.

The ongoing housing recovery will remain sustainable for the foreseeable future, analysts for Capital Economics say.

According to Fannie Mae, the fundamentals are set in place for a solid housing recovery. The GSE revised its housing forecast for this year and the next to reflect changes made in the housing market, including low interest rates, rising prices, and a healing labor market. Analysts for the company also note that there is an upside risk to their forecast, as "pent-up demand amid stronger household formation may result in stronger housing activity next year" than what's expected.

Amid increases in new construction, homebuilder confidence, and existing home sales, Freddie Mac reported fixed mortgage rates reaching new record lows for the second week in a row. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 3.31 percent (0.7 point) over the week ending November 21. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also experienced a decline this week, falling from 2.65 percent to 2.63 percent (0.7 point), according to Freddie Mac's data.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) offered market projections into 2014 during a forum at the 2012 Realtors Conference and Expo.

A lower supply of inventory and fewer distressed sales led to stronger home price gains across the country, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed in a recent report. On a national level, the median price for existing single-family homes increased 7.6 percent to $186,100 in the third quarter of this year compared to last year, the strongest annual gain since first-quarter 2006. The median price for existing homes improved in 120 out of 149 areas since last year.

The number of owner-occupied homes reached 75,076,000 in the third quarter, increasing from 74,832,000 in the second but down from 75,251,000 a year ago, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. At the same time, the nation's homeownership rate (seasonally adjusted) remained near historic lows, hovering at 65.5 percent. The stagnant homeownership rate combined with a decline in the number of units held off the market suggests opportunities for home sales.

U.S. home prices continued to increase in August as the Case Shiller 20-city Home Price Index rose 0.9 percent to its highest level since September 2010. The index is up 2.0 percent in the last year, showing improvement in 19 of the 20 cities surveyed. The 10-city also rose 0.9 percent in August, increasing 1.3 percent ahead of August 2011 and reaching its highest level since October 2010. The monthly gain in each index was slower than in July, when the 10-city index went up 1.5 percent and the 20-city index improved 1.6 percent.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose ever so slightly in September, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday, tempering the much-heralded housing sector revival. The Index inched up to 99.5, an improvement of 0.3 percentage points over August's 99.2. Economists had expected the index to jump 2.5 percent to 101.7.