Tag Archives: Home Sales

President Obama embarked this week on a series of speeches designed to highlight the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós continued economic stress. The immediate response and from both ends of the political spectrum was to decry his efforts as same-old, same-old. And, it is true the President has made this pitch before, emphasizing that the significant progress has made is not enough.

Single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose for the second straight month in June, according to the latest report from the New England-based Warren Group.

Home sales and prices grew in June in the vast majority of counties covered by DataQuick's monthly Property Intelligence Report (PIR).

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales welled 8.3 percent in June to 497,000, according to a report from the Census Bureau and HUD. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected June sales to increase to 484,000 from May's originally reported 476,000. The median price of a new home fell 5.0 percent in June to $249,700, the third time the median price has dropped in the last four months. At the same time, May's median price was revised down to $262,800 from the originally reported $263,900.

According to data reported by Redfin agents operating in 19 U.S. markets, June sales were down 4.7 percent compared to May, though they were still 2.7 percent up year-over-year. Home prices, on the other hand, continued to climb, coming in 4.3 percent higher than May and 18.7 percent higher year-over-year. Every one of the markets tracked in Redfin's report saw prices rise both on a monthly and yearly basis. Inventory also posted another solid gain in June, rising 2.4 percent month-over-month.

Existing-home sales fell 1.2 percent in June to an annual sales rate of 5.08 million as the price of a single-family home rose 13.5 percent from a year earlier--the strongest year-over-year gain since November 2005, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday. The drop in sales came despite an increase in April in NAR├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Pending Home Sales Index, which tracks contracts for existing single-family homes. The index rose in April to 105.7 from 104.1 in March and fell in May.

Annual home price and sales gains continued their streak in June, increasing on a yearly basis for the 17th straight month, according to RE/MAX's monthly housing report.

Citing improvements in manufacturing, tourism, commercial and residential real estate and in the financial sector, the Federal Reserve said the nation's economy continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace from late May through early July.

Despite soaring builder confidence, new housing permits and starts fell in June, with new construction falling to the lowest level in 10 months, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new housing permits tumbled 7.5 percent--the largest month-over-month decline since January 2011--while starts fell 9.9 percent, the second-largest drop since February 2011. Builders completed homes at an annual adjusted pace of 755,000 in June, 6.3 percent more than May.

Market participants reacting to speculation that the Federal Reserve may taper its bond purchases later this year should refrain from acting too hastily, Freddie Mac says in its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for July. According to Freddie Mac's metrics, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has jumped a full percentage point since mid-May as "taper talk" rules the day. Rates are expected to gradually move higher, closing out 2013 in the range of 4.6 to 4.7 percent.