Pending home sales have risen for nine months in a row, a first for the series of the index since its inception in 2001, according to the latest survey. The Pending Home Sales Index increased 3.7 percent to 114.1 from 110.0 in September, and is 31.8 percent above October 2008 when it was 86.6. The rise from a year ago is the biggest annual increase ever recorded for the index, which is at the highest level since March 2006 when it was 115.2. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales are experiencing a pendulum swing. “Keep in mind that housing had been underperforming over most of the past year. Based on the demographics of our growing population, existing-home sales should be in the range of 5.5 million to 6.0 million annually, but we were well below the 5-million mark before the home buyer tax credit stimulus,” he said. “This means the tax credit is helping unleash a pent-up demand from a large pool of financially qualified renters, much more than borrowing sales from the future." Read the release > View the video > View Pending Home Sales Index >
Forecast for 2010
In all, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, 4.4 million Americans look to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit before it expires by the middle of next year. From the enactment in February of this year through October, NAR estimates 1.8 million households would have qualified to claim the first-time home buyer tax credit. Now with the tax credit deadline extended till the end of June 2010 (for closings, with contracts signed by the end of April, 2010) and also available to many move-up buyers, an additional 2.6 million families would likely claim the home buyer tax credit. Read the entire forecast >
Commercial Real Estate: Market Overview and Outlook
In these two videos, Economist George Ratiu discusses important aspects of the current commercial real estate market. In the Market Overview, he briefly discusses the economy, factors driving economic activity, and the impact on commercial real estate. In the second video, he provides an outlook for commercial real estate and the economy in 2010. View Commercial Overview> View Commercial Outlook >
