Home sales rise 9.4 percent in September
‘There's a mini-boom going on in the housing market,’ pollster says
WASHINGTON - Home resales rose in September to the highest level in more than two years, beating expectations, as buyers scrambled to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires.
The National Association of Realtors said Friday that sales rose 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million in September, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.1 million in August. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5.35 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
The median sales price was $174,900, down 8.5 percent from a year earlier, and slightly lower than August's median of $177,300.
GO HERE to read more.
20 comments:
With the $8,000 first-time home buyer's credit, yes I do believe. Just like the "clunker" cash increased auto sales.
Its a bunch of short sales. I dont think that is good news.
Hmmmm I've had a house sit on the block for months with very little activity.
So you see a house onb your block that doesn't sell so you question the national STATISTICS? Maybe you should question your block.
Yes, I do. People believe that they need to buy at today's prices to get the $8000 tax credit. But since people factor that into their purchase price and that price is what the market can bare, it just means that prices will decline by about $8000 next month when you start comparing home values. Even at today's reduced prices, you'll be $8000 in the hole right off the gate.
Add into this the fact that the foreclosures are JUST NOW starting to find their way onto the market and you can see that downward pricing will still exist in this market for some time.
Truth be told, the housing credit will get extended. Congress has no financial discipline and Realtors are a very powerful lobby. Plus there is a perceived need to cushion the housing market to keep the economy from a double-dip.
All is not bad in purchasing a house right now. Between the tax credit, state's first time buyer program, possible grant money from the county, and upcoming appliance rebate you can get a nice chunk of subsidies with your purchase.
Plus, buying a house is a HUGE benefit if you see it as a hedge against inflation. We've printed so much money that inflation could easily hit 5% in the near future. This effectively gives a negative real-dollar interest rate to your mortgage after tax deductions and locks in your cost of housing for a long time.
I don't think the market is great right now, but it is in the buyer's favor. The uptick in housing confirms this.
11:14 is right on the money. The banks are aquiring homes in default and they are selling them at a fraction of their value. This, in turn, causes the owners of property (other than banks) to lower their prices in order to sell. Sales of REO's aren't used as comps when real estate values are appraised. The banks are currently selling properties that are in less than good shape. Some sell for as little as $30,000 but need $70,000 worth of work. None of this can be construed as good news. Now let's throw the impending inflation that is bound to be in the double digits into the mix. The picture is bleak at best. Hope you all are considering home gardens this spring.
Give me a break! Talk to anyone trying to get a mortgage today and it's almost impossible.
Try refinancing your property, again, almost impossible.
PNC Bank is calling every single loan they can just to try to get any money they can and quite frankly many businesses are closing because they cannot repay these line of credit loans.
One month they're down, the next week they're allegedly up 9%. It's no different than the Christmas shopping season. The MSM tells everyone the stores are packed and things are looking up. Then, at the end of the season they show how sales were way down for the season.
It's almost as predictable as watching the WBOC Weatherman.
Joe,
You are saying our government officials are lying to us?
Why is everything got to be a conspiracy theory? Depending on the consumer, now could be an excellent time to buy. Of course its more difficult to get a home mortgage--because most lenders are requiring a downpayment and good credit history for a change--but those that are able to (and there are many people out there that CAN get loans) are taking advantage of the incentives.
Now, if you're trying to buy a house and make a quick profit--of course that's a dumb idea, but when has buying a home as your primary residence with the intention of staying in the home for years ever been a bad idea?
Its just like the stock market--or any other investment, for that matter--if you're willing to ride the waves and you are financially responsible, then why NOT purchase a home?
Yheres been no growth on Smith Island.
I'm not sure that everybody is truly getting the Statistics stated in the article right. They are saying that the increased sales in September raised the adjusted annual rate of home sales-the 5.57 million for September is not how many homes were sold in September alone; it is the projected number of sales for all of 2009. So the numbers sound good (that's the main idea of statistics-you can make the bad sound really good), but in all reality they aren't that great.
Here's a breakdown for you-the US has approximately 114.8 million units. If 5.57 were sold in 2009-that means approximate 5% of the total units in the US were sold in 2009. I assume everybody knows 20 homeowners; it's not too farfetched to say that 1 of those 20 homeowners bought or sold a home in 2009, right?
Here's another break down; If you extrapolate the 5.57 million units sold over 12 months then you are only looking at an average of 0.46 million homes sold in each month of 2009. That's only .4% of the total US housing units were sold in any given month in 2009-to put that in easier terms, if you know 250 homeowners then 1 of them would have bought or sold a home in September or about 12 of those 250 homeowners would have bought or sold a home in 2009. The numbers don't seem that bad when you apply them.
I have to agree with Anon 11:50 AM, the banks are acquiring these properties and selling at really low prices just to get rid of them. So essentially if you are trying to sell your home at a "fair" CURRENT market value, you are probably going to get overlooked because chances are that there is a foreclosure of the same quality, or better, for way less that potential buyers are going to go after.
Anon 11:47 AM presents a very valid argument as well. If you were to buy a home now and can negotiate a fairly decent rate/payment, with the inflation of money your investment should (theoretically) be secure. The value of the dollar could/will continue to go down because the government is basically printing money at Kinko’s so, again in theory, people should be making more money in the future (when and if this economic situation ever turns around), but their payments will remain static-their month financial liability will go down in proportion to their increasing income.
Joe, you also have a very valid point. The financing hardships for buyers should make sales pretty scarce. How can we be experiencing an increase in sales while the banks aren't willing to lend money to even those applicants with excellent credit and secure jobs? I have a friend who owns a highly successful business and he can't even get a small business loan from a bank that his business has been dealing with in good standing for over 5 years now. They have extended several loans to him ranging from $75,000 all the way up to $200,000 to be repaid over a 5-15 year term. They have all be paid back in full in less than 5 years. He has even been willing to hold up over a quarter million in collateral just to get a $150,000 loan. The banks simply DO NOT want to lend money, even to good borrowers.
EVERDAY I get something in the mail about doing a FHA streamline refinance. I am currently at 5.75% on a $190,000 mortgage, but I have had offers come in the mail offering a fixed 3.75% rate!!!! When I call they say "you we can get you 5.25%, but you have to buy down to the 3.75%." In order for me to refinance my home at 3.75% they want me to put out $33,000 in fees and buy-down!! Of course they were trying to just get me to roll it into the mortgage. Do they think I'm stupid?! I could use that money to pay my $1,100 mortgage forward for 2.5 years! Or I could pay it on principal and get my monthly payment down to $910! So basically, the bank was trying to get some money out of me up front so that when they made me default on my loan they would have a $33,000 edge on selling the home! It's stupid, if the banks never got into shoddy lending then they would be willing to lend now-why should the responsible borrowers suffer for the mistakes of the banks and not so responsible borrowers?
Anon 12:54,
It doesn't have to be a conspiracy theory, it's the truth; the housing market might be on the rise, but it is certainly not good. The government should procede with caution to ensure that when they publish things like this that it will not mislead the public. I can't help but to believe that the one of the many reasons banks are not lending is because they want to rid themselves of the foreclosures that have acquired. A friend of mine specializes in foreclosures and he does not have as hard of a time getting people qualified for foreclosed properties or short sales. However, I do agree with you that this is an excellent time to buy a primary residence. You couldn't have said it better; it is just like the stock market - buy low and sell high. Too many people were looking for investment properties to 'flip' but if you want a home that has great potential for being a good investment then now is the time for certain, but the banks are hindering that dream.
Anon 1:23 PM,
In case you haven't noticed, there has been no growth on Smith Island for decades! Are you even affected by the global economy?
The housing market on the rise is GREAT news if you work in the industry! For the first time in two years we didn't have to lay off staff in Spetember which is wonderful and yes the tax credit has contributed to the boost. We provide credit services to mortgage companies and I am definitely enjoying the increase in business. The statistics are correct and many many americans are buying new homes and refinancing. Not sure Joe what you mean by impossible to get a mortgage if that were the case I'd be out of a job.
To answer the question in the headline-no.
3:39
OUCH!
Dear Towson Baltimoron-I probably have better credit than than you, city slicker. My wife and I both have jobs and my house is still worth more than I owe on it. No refinance money anyway. Maybe it's only elites like yourself who can get it. I also know that you're lying when you say home sales are just fine over there. By the way way-it YOU rednecks not YOUR rednecks. I might be a redneck, but I can spell.
The media is owned by the government and the corporations. There hasn't been any "fair and Balanced" reporting in years and now they want to control the internet, the last true media for getting the truth out! Its shame I have to find out what's going on in America from news sources like the BBC. They report just how bad things are here. Its not a recession, its a depression. Its been a depression for the past couple of years!
I hope this means the economy is picking up.
According to a local real estate agent here, only 2 sales she made were to "people", the rest are sales to banks or to brokers/ rental companies. Statistics lie in order to "stimulate" sales. Buyer beware.
I have to agree with Towson resident that around here is pretty much bumf*ck nowhere.
The shores' economy has always been heavily reliant on tourism and retail. Look at all the real businesses that have left the area and replaced with low wage retail. Its difficult to buy a house without a job. I'm sure that the local ya-whos' in charge have a plan, lol.
Post a Comment