Home sales have continued to rise according to the National Association Of Realtors and they are on "a record roll." The Pending Homes For Sale Index for July showed an increase of 3% from June's results. The Pending Homes For Sales Index of 97.6 for July showed the number of homes under contract in July 2009 was 12% higher than July of 2008. The index results for July registered the highest number of homes under contract since June of 2007 (100.7). The increase in pending home sales in July was also the sixth straight month of increases and a record for consecutive months since the index began in 2001. Pending homes sales for August will be released on October 1, 2009.

The National Association Of Realtors chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said, " The recovery is broad based across many parts of the country. Housing affordability has been at record highs this year with the added stimulus of the first time home buyer tax credit." Along with this increase in home sales from the first time homebuyers, many buyers have responded to the values now found with lower home prices, coupled with the record setting low interest rates.

The current low home prices along with low interest rates now means that a typical mortgage payment takes less than 25% of the typical middle income family's income in order to buy a median priced home. The current payment percentage result of 25% found in 2009 is the lowest on record since 1970.

The pending homes results by regions within the U.S. showed that some areas of the country are recovering faster than others with the West leading the way. The Pending Homes Sales Index in the Northeast was 78.8, Midwest at 88.1, the South was up to 103.8, and the West is now at 112.5. The results for the West and the South mean that pending homes sales in those areas are now higher than they were in 2001.

A tax credit for the qualified first time homebuyers, lower home prices, record low interest rates, and now a record setting six month period of pending homes sales increase show that now is a great time to buy a home.

David Craven
RE/MAX Mountain Realty
David@DavidCraven.com


A free search for foresclosure and short sales are now a part of the MLS listing search found at the www.WaynesvilleHomes-ForSale.com web site. New listings including foreclosures and short sales for the Western North Carolina region can now be emailed to you daily from those websites. Just fill out the New Listing Notifier found on the MLS Listing Search page and any new listing that fits your criteria will automatically be sent to your email address.