RELATED LINKS

Did You Know: Environmentally Friendly Features
Mortgage Application Survey

Sales Spark Up

Both existing-home sales and NAR’s forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index showed marked gains. EHS rose to 4.74 million units, up 6.5 percent from 4.45 million in November. Pending sales rose 6.3 percent, to a reading of 87.7 from 82.5 in November. 

"Buyers appear to be responding to the drops in home prices and mortgage interest rates," says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

• December 2008 Existing-Home Sales: 4.74 Million  (Seasonally adjusted annual rate, which is the actual rate of sales for the month, multiplied by 12 and adjusted for seasonal sales differences.)
• December 2008 Pending Home Sales Index: 87.7  (The Pending Home Sales Index measures housing contract activity. An index of 100 is equal to the level of activity during 2001, the benchmark year.)

Market Optimism Gains

Practitioners’ expectations for sales activity over the next six months saw a rebound in January as low home prices helped drive up sales, particularly in the West. Expectations for buyer traffic and overall market activity increased, even as confidence remains low that more sellers will emerge.

Results are based on 2,616 responses to 3,000 surveys sent to large and small real estate offices. The survey asks practitioners to indicate whether conditions are strong (100 points), moderate (50), or weak (0). Responses are averaged to derive results.