Pending home sales rise 8.2 percent in February

[Peacetrain]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100405/ap_on_bi_ge/us_pending_home_sales

WASHINGTON – The number of buyers who agreed to purchase previously occupied homes rose sharply in February, far exceeding expectations, in a sign that the housing market may be coming back from the winter doldrums.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements rose 8.2 percent from January to a February reading of 97.6. January's reading was revised slightly downward to 90.2.

The report "may signal the early stages of a second surge of home sales this spring," said Lawrence Yun, the trade group's chief economist.

[Dappleganger]

1. K&R for good news. nt

[dmallind]

2. Bit of a surprise I confess

I bought one in March and still had a strong buyer's market. However regional disparities are so wide in this sector that I have no doubt at all both can be true. Hope it's sustainable. The rebates through April should help (hopefully as I am still in two-house ownership mode myself).

[amborin]

3. last minute surge before the tax credit expires; housing news is BLEAK

[county worker]

4. Those are not closed sales.

Many people are making multiple offers on short sale homes. They have an contingent clause that lets them out of the sale if there is not acceptance from the bank. Out of 10 offers only about 1 becomes a sale. I really looked into this until I learned that there are houses that had two short sales in the same year.

Also speculators are buying houses they haven't even seen. They will rent them hoping the price will go up in a couple of years.

A couple of weeks ago there was a story about existing home sales this Feb was lower than last Feb and it was the third month on row like that.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100323/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy
WASHINGTON – Sales of existing homes fell for a third straight month in February, pushing sales down to the lowest level since last July. There is concern the fragile housing rebound is faltering, making it harder for the overall economy to recover.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. A spokesman for a sales based industry predicts better sales?

Allow me to alert the media. Let's start with the papers in the Central Valley of California, and see how hard they laugh at what The NAR's credibility in that area. Their reaction would be something like "Oh, you mean the same people who were taken by total surprise by the 'bubble' they created, and refused to acknowledge until their was innocent blood on the floor? That National Association of Realtors?"

[Tarheel_Dem]

6. Count me among them. YAY! (nt)