Pending Home Resales Unexpectedly Increased In June

Pending Home Resales Unexpectedly Increased In June

www.bloomberg.com

Americans unexpectedly signed more contracts to buy previously owned homes in June, a sign that housing may be starting to stabilize.

The index of signed purchase agreements, or pending home resales, rose 5 percent to 102.4 after declining a revised 3.7 percent in May, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. It was the first increase in four months.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I guess things aren't as bad as they seem.

www.bloomberg.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

The fact is the economy(and housing) is not as bad as some would lead us to believe.
As new home sales lag,prices drop,this is good for the consumer.
I was able to get a $165k house for $95k about 4 months ago. And due to good credit got a fantastic fixed rate (5.7%) mortgage.(Stable lenders are hungry for responsible first time buyers)
The way i look at it, if builders and lenders weren't trying to fleece people then we would never have had the housing bubble.
In my opinion the housing bubble has done nothing but help lower income responsible people afford homes that 6 years ago were way over priced.
I'm no housing expert,but i have watched housing closely for the last 5 years waiting to take advantage of this. I am expecting the prices and volume to level off and then a gradual increase over the next 6 to 8 years. So if i were you, i would buy now while the getting is good. And if at all possible wait to sell your house. It's a buyers market.
Just my 2 cents.

Samhain... using your logic the price of all commodities and even the stock market should never rise cause if it does, it's people fleecing everyone else. The upsurge in the housing market was fueled by a robust economy making more people able to afford homes. Supply and demand drove prices up. When that happened, investors and speculators came into the market in droves --- you've heard of 'flipping' houses I'm sure. That further drove prices up into the stratosphere. As the retail economy weakened and credit began to dry-up (coicidental with our suddenly having to shell-out some $12B/month to finance the wars) the market went 'poof'. It happened before (think mid 80's) and it will happen again.

This Bloomberg article goes on to contradict and confuse, but the headline is what will remain in the minds of most who read it.

The NAR says that their index of signed purchase agreements, or pending home resales rose 5% in June, but the Mortgage Bankers Association reports that loan applications have actually declined to their lowest point since February.

June is historically a 'peak sales' month, so one might expect to see some increase in purchase agreements at this time...but due to tightening credit standards, what percentage of those contracts will actually close escrow?

Elsewhere, data shows that national foreclosure filings fell 7% for the month, but they still remain 87% above last June's filings. I've harped on this before in other threads, but it's important to remember that when a home is returned to the lender, the foreclosure is recorded in it's respective county as an 'existing home sales'. Inspite of the fact that record foreclosures this year are helping to shore-up the national 'existing home sales' figures, the bloomberg article tells us that once again, existing home sales fell for the month of June...3.8% according to the NAR?...or...6.6% according to the U.S. Commerce Department?

I have to believe that serious, and knowledgeable speculators are still sidelined, waiting for the defaults from an estimated $1BB in ARM's that are going to reset in the second half of the year. The bottom is still over the horizon in my opinion

Originally posted by ProfTom


I guess things aren't as bad as they seem.

www.bloomberg.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Give me a second...





hahahahaha.


Damn you, retrospect.



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[edit on Mon Feb 16 2009 by Jbird]