home sales

Existing Home Sales - Affordability at Five Year Low

The NAR reported existing home sales declined -1.9% from last month and are up 10.7% from last year.  Sales have increased on a yearly basis for the last 27 months in a row.   Inventories are still a very tight five months of supply.  Inventories increased 2.0% from last month but are down, -7.4% from a year ago.   Existing homes sales nationwide have increased 10.7% from a year ago.

Existing Home Sales Drop -1.2% for June 2013

The NAR reported existing home sales declined -1.2% from last month and May figures were revised down by 40,000 annualized units.  The revision gives a 3.4% monthly May gain instead of the 4.2% originally reported.   Inventories are still a very tight 5.2 months of supply, a 4.0% increase from last month's five month supply and a -18.8% annual drop in supply for existing sales demand.

Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble as Existing Home Sales Rise for May 2013

The NAR reported existing home sales jumped 4.2% from last month and inventories are still a very tight 5.1 months of supply for May 2013.   Existing homes sales have increased 12.9% from a year ago.  Volume was 5.18 million against April's 4.97 million annualized existing home sales.

Existing Home Sales Decline 0.6% for March 2013

NAR reported their March 2013 Existing Home Sales.  Existing home sales decreased -0.6% from last month and inventories increased to a still very tight 4.7 months of supply.   Existing homes sales have increased 10.3% from a year ago.    Volume was 4.92 million against February's 4.95 million, annualized existing home sales.

Existing Home Sales Increase 0.8% for February 2013

NAR reported their February 2013 Existing Home Sales.  Existing home sales increased 0.8% from last month and inventories increased to a still very tight 4.7 months of supply.   Existing homes sales have increased 10.2% from a year ago.    Volume was 4.98 million against January's 4.94 million, annualized existing home sales.

First-time home buyer tax credit

The pending home sales numbers shot up today. But like the cash-for-clunkers program effecting the ISM numbers, another expensive federal program is boosting these numbers.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, increased 3.2 percent to 97.6 from a reading of 94.6 in June, and is 12.0 percent higher than July 2008 when it was 87.1. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it was 100.7.
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NAR estimates that about 1.8 to 2.0 million first-time buyers will take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit this year, with approximately 350,000 additional sales that would not have taken place without the credit.

It makes me wonder two things:

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