The number of home buyers signing contracts to
buy existing homes jumped nearly six percent in May to the highest level
since April of 2010, according to a new report from the National
Association of Realtors.
Back
then buyers were rushing to beat the deadline for the home buyer tax
credit. This spring buying surge was particularly strong out west where
the NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index jumped 14.5 percent. Investors are
driving the market out West, racing to buy distressed properties and
take advantage of today’s very hot rental market.
Realtors
say they expect total home sales for 2012 to be up around 10 percent
from a year ago, but they caution that low inventory and tight credit,
for buyers and builders alike, are holding the market back.
“If
credit conditions returned to normal, and if we had more inventory,
especially in the lower price ranges, more people would become
successful buyers,” writes NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun in a
release. “In an environment of historically favorable housing
affordability conditions, it’s frustrating to see some consumers
thwarted in the process.”
The
supply of homes for sale has dropped precipitously in the past year, as
banks are slower to work through delinquent loans, investors are
grabbing up foreclosures at a fast pace, and negative equity is making
it impossible for many sellers to list their homes on the markets.
Mortgage delinquencies are down to their lowest level in four years,
according to a new report today from the Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency (OCC). New home construction is still near record low
levels, despite rising off its bottom.
No comments:
Post a Comment