Pending Home Sales Stabilize
Pending home sales have leveled from a market swing driven by response to the home buyer tax credit, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, increased 1 percent to 96.6 from 95.6 in November, and remains 10.9 percent above December 2008 when it was 87.1.
In November, the monthly index had fallen by 16.4 percent from surging activity in preceding months.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says it’s important to recognize how the tax credit is skewing market data.
“There are easily understood swings in contract activity as buyers respond to a tax credit that was expiring and was then extended and expanded,” he says. “These swings are masking the underlying trend, which is a broad improvement over year-ago levels.”
December activity was the fifth highest monthly tally in two years.
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Pending Home Sales Stabilize
Pending home sales have leveled from a market swing driven by response to the home buyer tax credit, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, increased 1 percent to 96.6 from 95.6 in November, and remains 10.9 percent above December 2008 when [...]
Misuse of Home Buyer Tax Credit Reported
A report earlier this month from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration estimates that 73,799 taxpayers have incorrectly claimed the first-time home buyer tax credit. The report concludes: “The IRS is unable to verify eligibility for the majority of Recovery Act benefits at the time a tax return is processed.”
The IRS didn’t dispute the claim, but said it was studying the matter further. Some have suggested that this report and others will encourage Congress to put some safeguards in place before more claims result from the extension and expansion of the tax credit.
Source: The New York Times, Lynnley Browning (12/22/2009)
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Existing-Home Sales Record Big Gains
Driven by the home buyer tax credit, existing-home sales showed another big gain in October with a strong uptrend established over the past seven months, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. At the same time, inventories have continued to decline.
Existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—surged 10.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million units in October from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million in September, and are 23.5 percent above the 4.94 million-unit level in October 2008. Sales activity is at the highest pace since February 2007 when it hit 6.55 million.
Tax Credit Fuels Surge
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, was surprised at the size of the gain. “Many buyers have been rushing to beat the deadline for the first-time buyer tax credit that was scheduled to expire at the end of this month, and similarly robust sales may be occurring in November,” he said. “With such a sale spike, a measurable decline should be anticipated in December and early next year before another surge in spring and early summer.” Full Details…
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Existing-Home Sales Record Big Gains
Driven by the home buyer tax credit, existing-home sales showed another big gain in October with a strong uptrend established over the past seven months, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. At the same time, inventories have continued to decline.
Existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—surged 10.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate [...]
NAR: Tax Credit Best for Sustaining Housing Recovery
The best available tool for sustaining the still-fragile housing market is the $8,000 home buyer tax credit, and it is essential that Congress extend the credit into 2010, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® testified at a hearing of the U.S. House Small Business Committee today.
The tax credit expires November 30.
NAR Regional Vice President Joseph L. [...]
Aides: Home Buyer Tax Credit Likely to Win Extension
Extending the First-Time Home Buyers Tax Credit, due to expire at the end of November, is high on the Democratic Congressional to-do list, legislative aides said.
After Wednesday’s meeting with President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) released a statement that the government should “continue efforts to strengthen the housing market by extending the home buyer tax credit.”
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, who is a consultant to Democrats in the administration and Congress, is advocating extending the credit through August and making it available to all home buyers. He said failure to extend the credit just as more foreclosures enter the market will push housing prices down.
Also, on Thursday, the House is expected pass legislation to extend the credit through 2010 for people who have been out of the country in the military, intelligence, or foreign services.
Source: The New York Times, Jackie Calmes (10/07/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
NAR: Tax Credit Best for Sustaining Housing Recovery
The best available tool for sustaining the still-fragile housing market is the $8,000 home buyer tax credit, and it is essential that Congress extend the credit into 2010, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® testified at a hearing of the U.S. House Small Business Committee today.
The tax credit expires November 30.
NAR Regional Vice President Joseph L. Canfora, a broker-owner with Century 21 Selmar Realty in East Islip, N.Y., also told the panel that a major stumbling block for consumers has been the implementation of appraisal processes spurred by the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, which is causing delays in closings, as well as cancelled sales that led to artificially low existing-home sales numbers for August, reported last month.
“The credit is working,” Canfora said, pointing out that the 355,000 to 400,000 transactions directly attributable to the credit made a significant dent in the housing inventory and will help to stabilize home prices. Further, the credit has provided a huge indirect benefit to local governments, shoring up property tax bases in particularly hard-hit areas.
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
