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Pending home sales activity surged as buyers took advantage of low home prices and affordable interest rates, according to the latest report. The Pending Home Sales Index jumped 7.4 percent to 93.4 from an upwardly revised reading of 87.0 in July, and is 8.8 percent higher than August 2007 when it stood at 85.8. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it stood at 101.4. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home buyers were responding to improved affordability. “What we’re seeing is the momentum of people taking advantage of low home prices, with pending home sales up strongly in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Rhode Island and the Washington, D.C., region,” he said. "It’s unclear how much contract activity may be impacted by the credit disruptions on Wall Street, but we’re hopeful most of the increase will translate into closed existing-home sales.”
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View the commentary >
View the forecast >
View Pending Home Sales Index>
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Every housing market is unique, and all real estate is local. That’s why NAR is working to bring you more information on the local level. These 150 separate local markets reports — which reflect data available through the first quarter of 2008 — provide insights into the fundamentals and direction of the nation's largest metropolitan housing markets. Each downloadable report evaluates a number of factors affecting home prices, including:
- The health of the local job market
- Foreclosure rates
- Housing inventory
- Debt-to-income and mortgage-servicing-costs-to-income ratios
These reports are available to members only and require a log in.
Find your local market >
How to read these reports > (342K PDF)
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The U.S. economy has entered a recession and will contract for the next three quarters, and the recovery, from the second half of 2009, will be tepid. The unemployment rate will peak at 6.7 percent by midyear next year before steadily heading down. However, existing home sales will be rising despite challenging economic times.
Read the entire commentary >
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While the residential market is still dealing with delinquent mortgages and foreclosures, the multi-family sector is feeling some positive side-effects. A good number of potential first-time home buyers are waiting out the current economic and housing conditions, and choosing to rent. In addition, in markets with significant foreclosures, displaced homeowners choose multi-family buildings to rent.
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Consumer spending has been the main driver of economic growth over the past few years. Rising prices for most consumer goods due to increased fuel costs have curtailed spending. Deteriorating economic conditions due to the financial crunch have also squeezed consumer credit, leaving consumers with less money to spend on retail goods.
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Industrial sector completions in the first half of 2008 were a robust 79 million square feet, essentially unchanged from completions in the first half of 2007. Furthermore, this year's first half completions exceed first half completions for 2003-2005. The supply side of the industrial sector is therefore abundant. By contrast, net absorption, the primary measure of demand, turned negative in the first two quarters of 2008. Because net absorption has not kept pace with the industrial space coming online, the vacancy rate has risen to over 10 percent.
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View latest Commercial Real Estate Outlook >
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As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, a First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit is now available. However, this limited-time tax break ends in mid-2009. A homebuyer tax credit has been available for first-time homebuyers in Washington, D.C. for many years, and now first-time homebuyers nationwide can take advantage of a similar benefit. NAR’s Research Division and the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council (REBAC) have teamed up to create the Save Now With the Homebuyers Tax Credit brochure - an in depth resource that REALTORS® can provide to buyers regarding the Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and the Homebuyers Tax Credit. Don’t miss this valuable tool!
Buy the brochure >
Read the commentary >
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Need to sound like an expert fast, but don’t have time to prepare a presentation? Why not use one of ours! On our Presentation Modules page, you’ll find PowerPoint presentations of roughly 15-20 slides along with talking points on a variety of topics. The latest Presentation Module presents highlights from NAR’s 2008 Profile of International Home Buying Activity. It showcases which nationalities bought the most homes in the U.S., what kind of homes they bought, which states were the most popular destinations for home buying and the median prices of the homes they purchased, among many other topics.
View the Presentation Module page >
View the International Profile Presentation Module (1.75M PDF) >
Request a Presentation Module on a NAR Research Division Survey or Profile >
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The NAR Annual Convention is coming up fast. From November 7-10, tens of thousands of Realtors® will gather in Orlando to meet the best and the brightest in real estate and get the latest insights on housing trends, real estate products and education. Along with appearances by Lance Armstrong, Lionel Richie, Joe Theismann and Kool & The Gang, the Research Division will also be giving several presentations, including an economic update by Lawrence Yun – don’t miss it! Registration is open now.
Register here >
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Report compiled by NAR's Research Division.
Questions about this report? Contact Research at mdunn@realtors.org. |
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