The National Association of
Realtors (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index is a measure of contracts signed on
existing homes. It's a forward-looking indicator of where sales may be a few
months out when those contracts go to closing. Monday we got the good news that
Pending Home Sales in June were 1.5% ahead of May's upwardly revised
reading. This reverses a three month decline, and the NAR now predicts
existing home sales will end the year at about 5.56 million, up 2.6% from
2016's 5.45 million. The median existing home price is forecast to
end the year up 5%, just below 2016's 5.1% gain.
The NAR's chief economist commented: "Market conditions in many areas
continue to be fast paced, with few properties to choose from, which is forcing
buyers to act almost immediately on an available home that fits their
criteria." Freddie Mac's chief economist concurred, "the spoiler is
the lean inventory... nationally, just over five months of supply." Yet he
remains positive: "A decade after the Great Recession, the housing
market is rebounding. House prices today are higher than they were at the peak
in the summer of 2006, near record low mortgage rates have boosted housing
demand, and sales volume is robust."
No comments:
Post a Comment