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Daily Real Estate News | December 10, 2007
NAR: Another Monthly Gain for Pending Home SalesThe Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed, increased 0.6 percent in October, marking the second consecutive monthly gain, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The index rose to 87.2 from an upwardly revised reading of 86.7 in September. However, the October index still was 18.4 percent below year-earlier reading of 106.8. “The broad trend over the coming year will be a gradual rise in existing-home sales,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “But because sales are exceptionally low in the final months of 2007, total sales for 2008 will be only modestly higher than 2007.” A recovery for new-home sales is unlikely before 2009, he adds. Yun says the worst part of the credit crunch has already worked its way through the data: “Now that mortgage conditions have improved, some postponed activity should turn up in existing-home sales over the next couple of months, and I expect sales at fairly stable to slightly higher levels.”Existing-home sales in 2007 are likely to total 5.67 million this year, the fifth highest on record, and then rise to 5.70 million in 2008. By comparison, home sales in 2006 totaled 6.48 million
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