Tag Archives: Pending Home Sales

In California, the sale of distressed properties slowed down as equity sales picked up in February after two months of decline, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) reported this week. ""A lack of inventory in the bank-owned (REO) and short sale market was a contributing factor to the decline in share of distressed sales in February,"" said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold. The share of distressed properties that sold statewide decreased to 48.9 percent in February, down from January's 50.1 percent and from 55.2 percent a year ago in February 2011.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) edged down February to 96.5 from January’s 97.0 which had been the highest level since April 2010, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. The index slipped for just the second time in the last five months, but was 9.2 percent ahead of the level in February 2011. It remains down 26 percent from the April 2005 level.

Existing-home sales fell in February from an upwardly revised January sales pace, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Wednesday. February sales - completed transactions - were down 0.9 percent from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million. January's total was revised up to 4.63 million from 4.57 million. The February 2012 sales pace was up 8.8 percent from February 2011. The median price of an existing home in February was $156,600, up 0.1 percent from the previous month and up 0.3 percent from February 2011. The month-over-month price increase was the first since last June.

After reaching a 19-month high in November, pending home sales declined 3.5 percent in December, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Wednesday. November's pending home sales stood at 100.1 for the nation, just above the ""historically healthy"" average of 100, designated by NAR. The rate ticked down to 96.6 in December. Despite the decline, December's pending home sales are 5.6 percent higher than the rate recorded in December 2010.

Pending home sales continued to rise in November, reaching their highest level in 19 months, the National Association of Realtors reported. The trade group's index of signed sales contracts jumped 7.3 percent between October and November and is 5.9 percent above its level a year earlier. The last time the index was higher was in April 2010 as buyers rushed to beat the deadline for the homebuyer tax credit. Analysts say the results are likely to feed the view that there is a recovery going on in the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) pending home sales index reported strong positive movement over the month of October, rising 10.4 percent from September. The index, which measures sales contracts but not closings, is also 9.2 percent above its rate a year ago. NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun says the market volatility inflicted by the homebuyer tax credit last year is now past. Thus, the monthly and year-over-year increase in sales contracts is a positive indication for the market.

Despite indications of economic recovery -- such as job growth and some stabilization in home values -- pending home sales dropped for the third consecutive month in September, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Pending sales of existing homes, including REOs and short sales, fell 4.6 percent from the previous month's reading. NAR describes current market conditions as ""a very strange situation,"" considering affordability is at a record-high, yet consumers are not responding.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index for August was 88.6, which is on par with last year's pending home sales average for the year, according to NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun. Yun says the index has been moving within a narrow range for the past several months. On a monthly basis, pending home sales fell 1.2 percent in August, although existing home sales in August rose 7.7 percent on a monthly basis and 18.6 percent year-over-year.

Pending home sales decreased overall and in three of the four national regions in July, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, nationally and in all four regions, pending sales remain higher than one year ago. The West was the only region to post a month-over-month increase, with sales contracts up 3.6 percent. Despite recent declines in pending sales for most of the country, NAR says contract activity over the past three months is fairly comparable to the first part of this year.

California's pending home sales dipped in July, as did the share of distressed property sales. The California Association of Realtors says 44.5 percent of home sales contracts last month involved distressed properties. That's down from both the previous month and a year earlier. Short sales made up 17.5 percent of total sales. The state's Realtors have sent letters to the largest lenders with ideas on how the process can be improved and calling for their immediate attention.