January Pending Home Sales Both Positive & Negative
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 01, 2014 -- The National Association of Realtors announced their pending home sales index on on Friday, February 28th. Peoples Home Equity found that the annual change in pending home sales declined in January by the largest margin since 2011. On the positive note, pending home sales increased on a monthly basis by 0.1% which was substantial since the the past few months of been a slew of negative monthly readings for the index.
Year-over-year pending home sales declined -9.0% decline for January which was lower than December which was -8.8%. The annual reading is now at its lowest point since 2011. The monthly pending home sales index rose 0.1% from 94.9 to 95.0 in January which was significant since that monthly changes in sales have been negative since June 2013! The monthly change for December 2013 was -5.76%, November was -1.18%, October was -2.02%, September was -1.02%, and July was -2.35%. Thus, to see any number at or above 0% was a relief for Peoples Home Equity especially on announcement where the annual pace of sales seemed dismal.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said that factors which dampened December activity also were at play in January. “Ongoing disruptive weather patterns in much of the U.S. inhibited home shopping.” However, the western region of the United States experienced the worst monthly change in pending home sales with a decline of -4.8%. The reason why this region posted a negative reading is thought to be tight inventories. As for the Midwest, where Peoples Home Equity centers the most of its business, is the decline was less severe with only a -2.5% decline. Areas that helped push sales higher for the month were seen in the Northeast with a 2.3% rise, and the South with a 3.5% rise.
Looking forward, Peoples Home Equity thinks the spring months will bring positive change to home sales as well as weekly mortgage applications. The market already seen that Americans are still willing to purchase real estate as new home sales posted an increase of 9.6% in January on Wednesday, February 26t. This increase was far above the consensus of a -1% decline. The key is to bring first-time home buyers into the market. For this to happen, post college graduate employment rates must increase, percentage of student loans must decline, and federal under writing standards must loosen up. The first-time buyer urge to purchase a home lives on among all Americans, just the ability to do so takes time.
Please contact Peoples Home Equity loan officer today for mortgage details and the ability to purchase a home perhaps sooner than you expect: (855)-897-0300.
Giorgio U Ferrero, Peoples Home Equity, http://www.peopleshomeequity.com/index.php/main, +1 8473386062, [email protected]
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