Tag Archives: Pending Home Sales

California's distressed home sales dropped in April for the second consecutive month, according to the state's local Realtors group. The California Association of Realtors reports that the total share of all distressed property types sold statewide - including REOs and short sales - declined to 48 percent, down from 51 percent in March. The group says bargain hunters and investors were joined last month by homebuyers who are timing their decisions to coincide with the start of the spring season and targeting more non-distressed properties.

After declining for two months, pending sales of existing homes unexpectedly increased in February, the National Association of Realtors reports. The trade group's pending home sales index rose 2.1 percent compared to January but remains 8.2 percent below February 2010. The index reading for last month was 90.8. A reading of 100 indicates a healthy level of sales activity. The last time the pending sale index registered above the 100 mark was in April 2010 when homebuyers were rushing to sign contracts before the homebuyer tax credit deadline.

Industry data released Monday showed that the number of homebuyers who signed contracts in January for the purchase of previously owned homes declined from both the previous month and year-ago levels. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says its January index of pending home sales is down 2.8 percent from the December reading, which was revised downward from a previously reported gain to reflect the start of a two-month decline in pending sales. NAR's January reading is 1.5 percent below the pending sales measurement recorded 12 months earlier.

The number of contracts signed for purchases of previously owned homes rose again in December, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Thursday. The trade group's pending home sales index increased 2.0 percent compared to its November reading. NAR says this forward-looking indicator typically signals where existing-home sales levels should be within one or two months. It marks the third consecutive month NAR's gauge of home sales to come has climbed higher.

According to RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), a source of real estate data, analytics, and business intelligence for real estate professionals in the Mid-Atlantic, the Baltimore housing market continued to look bleak in December. Based on figures from RBI's newly launched pending home sales index, the average price of homes sold in the Baltimore area dropped 6.6 percent, from $283,269 at the end of 2009 to $264,500 by the end of 2010. At the same time, active listing inventory grew by 10 percent.

The number of contracts signed for purchases of previously owned homes climbed again in November, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) late last week. The organization's pending home sales index rose 3.5 percent based on contracts signed in November. That follows a record 10 percent jump recorded for the month of October and beat even the most modest market expectations. NAR describes the trend as indicative of ""a gradual recovery into 2011.""

Industry data released Thursday showed that the number of contracts signed for home purchases climbed in October. The news came as a surprise to analysts and industry professionals who have been anticipating a continued falloff in buyer demand due to the typical seasonal slowdown in home sales, compounded by concerns that servicers' affidavit problems could muddy some transactions. The National Association of Realtors says its gauge of pending sales for previously owned homes rose 10.4 percent.

The number of contracts signed for purchases of previously owned homes unexpectedly dropped in September. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Friday that its pending home sales index slipped 1.8 percent - the first decline reported since June. Economists polled by Reuters were anticipating a 3 percent increase. The fact that the September drop occurred before all the problems with foreclosure affidavits came to light, and created uncertainties for buyers of REO properties, means there's likely more volatility to come in home sales statistics.

Buyers of REO homes owned by HUD may have their closing dates pushed back after this Friday, but the federal agency says any delays will be brief. Rumors have circulated from various corners of the industry that HUD is planning a moratorium on REO sales expected to close after the end of this week, but a spokesperson for the government agency stressed to DSNews.com, ""HUD is not suspending sales of HUD REO properties on November 5th or any other time. HUD's new asset managers will continue to list and sell HUD homes.""

Pending home sales have increased for the second month in a row, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday. The trade group's index is a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on signed contracts. It rose 4.3 percent in August. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says a continuing rise in the pending sales index is to be expected from favorable affordability conditions and possible job creation, but he warns that a sudden rise in mortgage rates could stall the recovery.