Home sales up 10.3% this past year

Despite slight monthly decline, existing-home sales up 10.3% from a year ago Existing-home sales slipped 0.6 percent from February to March as a lack of home inventory continued to constrain purchases, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) reported. At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million, existing-home sales were still 10.3 percent higher than …

Continue reading ‘Home sales up 10.3% this past year’ »

Fannie Mae sees housing upturn as “intact”

Despite some bumps in the road, the housing upturn is “intact” and rising home prices are expected to boost household net worth and offset fiscal tightening, according to a monthly economic outlook released by economists at Fannie Mae. Tight inventories continue to restrain sales of existing homes. Although the number of homes on the market …

Continue reading ‘Fannie Mae sees housing upturn as “intact”’ »

Real estate is still local — and cyclical

Homes prices were up nationally in 2012 from a year ago. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, home prices continued to rise in the third quarter of 2012, marking six months in a row of increases. The national composite index was up 3.6 percent over the third quarter of 2011 and up 2.2 percent …

Continue reading ‘Real estate is still local — and cyclical’ »

Existing-home sales near 5-year high

Existing-home sales, prices and inventory saw dramatic changes in 2012 reminiscent of the housing boom, statistics released by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. At 4.65 million units, 2012 existing-home sales were up 9.2 percent from 2011, according to NAR’s preliminary totals for the year. That would be the highest volume since 2007, when 5.03 million …

Continue reading ‘Existing-home sales near 5-year high’ »