Home sales increase in March;  2012 to be the year of recovery for housing

By , on April 26th, 2012

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-pending-home-salesThe National Association of REALTORS released it’s Pending Home Sales Index for March today showing an increase of 4.1 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and an 12.8 percent increase from a year ago and is now at the highest level it’s been since April 2010.

Highlights from the report for March, 2012:

  • The pending home sales index (seasonally adjusted) was 101.4 (the index is based upon 100.0 being equal to the average level of sales activity in 2001 which we could call the last “normal” year) which is a 4.1 percent increase from the month before and an 12.8 percent increase from a year ago.

Continue reading “Home sales increase in March;  2012 to be the year of recovery for housing“

Home sales in Midwest up 6.5 percent in February while down in all other regions

By , on March 26th, 2012

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-pending-home-salesThe National Association of REALTORS released it’s Pending Home Sales Index for February today showing home sales in the Midwest increased 6.5 percent from the month before and were up 19.0 percent from a year ago.  This is in sharp contrast to home sales on a national level which saw a slight decrease of 0.5 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and an 9.2 percent increase from a year ago. Continue reading “Home sales in Midwest up 6.5 percent in February while down in all other regions“

Pending home sales index hits highest level since April 2010

By , on February 27th, 2012

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-pending-home-salesThe National Association of REALTORS released it’s Pending Home Sales Index for January today showing an increase of 2.0 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and an 8.0 percent increase from a year ago. This marks the highest level the pending home sales index has been at since April 2010 when it hit 111.3 as a result of buyers racing to buy before the homebuyer tax credit expired. Continue reading “Pending home sales index hits highest level since April 2010“

Home sales rise in November;  second consecutive month of increases

By , on December 29th, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for November shows an increase of 7.3 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 5.9 percent increase from a year ago. This is the second consecutive month that the index has increased and marks the highest level the index has achieved since April 2010 when it was at 111.5.

Continue reading “Home sales rise in November;  second consecutive month of increases“

Home sales jump in October to highest level in 18 months

By , on December 1st, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for October shows an increase of 10.4 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 9.2 percent increase from a year ago. This is the first time in four months that the index has increased and marks the highest level the index has achieved since April 2010 when it was at 110.9.

Continue reading “Home sales jump in October to highest level in 18 months“

Home sales fall in September; third consecutive month of decline

By , on October 27th, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for September shows a decrease of 4.6 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 6.4 percent increase from a year ago. This is the third consecutive month the index has decreased from the month before and, and the year over year numbers continue to show decline in the rate of improvement from last year. Continue reading “Home sales fall in September; third consecutive month of decline“

Home sales decline in August; second consecutive month of declines

By , on September 29th, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for August shows a decrease of 1.2 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 7.7 percent increase from a year ago. This is the second consecutive month the index has decreased from the month before and, while the year over year numbers are still better, this month’s year over year increase was only half of what last months was. Continue reading “Home sales decline in August; second consecutive month of declines“

Home sales activity in July down from month before; still better than last year

By , on August 29th, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for July shows, after two consecutive months of increases, a decrease of 1.3 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 14.4 percent increase from a year ago (last month’s index was up 19.8 percent from the year before). Continue reading “Home sales activity in July down from month before; still better than last year“

Pending home sales increase in June; 2nd consecutive month pending home sales on the rise

By , on July 29th, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for June shows an increase of 2.4 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a whopping 19.8 percent increase from a year ago. This is the second month in a row that the index increased on a year-over-year basis. Continue reading “Pending home sales increase in June; 2nd consecutive month pending home sales on the rise“

Pending home sales increase in May; largest monthly gain since last year

By , on June 29th, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for May shows an increase of 8.2 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 13.4 percent increase from a year ago. This is the first time since April 2010 that the index increased on a year-over-year basis, and had the largest monthly gain since last November when the index rose 10.6 percent. Continue reading “Pending home sales increase in May; largest monthly gain since last year“

Pending home sales increase in March; prediction is for an increase in existing home sales this year

By , on April 28th, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for March shows an increase of 5.1 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 11.4 percent decrease from a year ago. This is the third-consecutive month over month increase for the pending home sales index. Continue reading “Pending home sales increase in March; prediction is for an increase in existing home sales this year“

U.S. Pending Home Sales increase slightly in February; mixed results regionally

By , on March 28th, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for February shows an increase of 2.1 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 8.2 percent decrease from a year ago. There were some wide swings regionally in this months statistics as the Northeast region had a 10.9 percent decline from the prior month and the West had a 7.0 percent increase. Continue reading “U.S. Pending Home Sales increase slightly in February; mixed results regionally“

Home sales activity increasing modestly

By , on January 27th, 2011
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for December shows an increase of 2.0 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 4.2 percent decrease from a year ago. Continue reading “Home sales activity increasing modestly“

Pending home sales rise in November

By , on December 30th, 2010
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for November shows an increase of 3.5 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 5.0 percent decrease from a year ago. Continue reading “Pending home sales rise in November“

Pending home sales drop slightly in September

By , on November 5th, 2010
Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for September shows a decrease of 1.8 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 24.9 percent decrease from a year ago. Continue reading “Pending home sales drop slightly in September“

Pending Home Sales Increase in August; Still down 20 percent from year ago

By , on October 4th, 2010
Dennis Norman

Pending home sales rise for 2nd consecutive month in August –

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for August shows an increase of 4.3 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), which is 20.1 percent below a year ago. Continue reading “Pending Home Sales Increase in August; Still down 20 percent from year ago“

Pending Home Sales Drop In January; Weather Named as Cause

By , on March 4th, 2010
Dennis Norman

 Today the National Association of REALTORS released it’s January Pending Home Sales Index showing a decrease of 7.6 percent in the index from December, 2009 to January 2010 (seasonally adjusted) and a 12.3 percent increase from last year.

Here are highlights from the report:

  • January”s pending home sales index (seasonally adjusted) was 90.4 (the index is based upon 100.0 being equal to the average level of sales activity in 2001 which we could call the last “normal” year) which was a decrease of 7.6 percent in the index from December’s revised index of 97.8 and an increase of 12.3 percent from January, 2009 when it was 80.5.
  • January”s not-seasonally adjusted index index was at 74.4, an increase of 17.7 percent from December and an increase of 8.8 percent increase from a year ago.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said weather is likely to impact housing data. “January pending sales, though still higher than one year ago, remain much lower than expected given that a large number of potential buyers are eligible for the expanded home buyer tax credit. Moreover, the abnormally severe and prolonged winter weather, which affected large regions of the U.S., hampered shopping activity in February,” he said.

June pending home sales increase
Midwest up 11.6% from a year ago

By , on August 4th, 2009
yun_lawrence_100x144

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, NAR

By: Dennis Norman

Today the National Association of REALTORS(R) issued their Pending Home Sales Index Report for June showing pending sales in the U.S. were up for the fifth consecutive month, the first time in six-years for such a streak.

Here in the Midwest pending home sales were only up 0.8% from May, but were up a whopping 11.6% from this time a year ago, the largest year over year increase of the four regions in the U.S.

The pending home sales index for the Midwest rose 0.8% to 89.9 from a level of 89.2 in May, and was down only 0.05% from Aprils 90.4. April, 2009, had the highest index in the past 12 months, and June 2009 is now the 2nd highest showing clearly that there are signs of life in the market and that we have possibly seen the bottom.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a combination of positive market factors is fueling the gains. “Historically low mortgage interest rates, affordable home prices and large selection are encouraging buyers who’ve been on the sidelines. Activity has been consistently much stronger for lower price homes,” he said.

To see an interview with Lawrence Yun by REALTOR(R) Magazine click here.