Home Sales Continue Rising
Excerpts from Inman News
The Home Sales Index jumped 5.6 percent in 2011
A monthly index that tracks pending sales of U.S. resale homes rose in September compared to a year ago.
Also today, Third-quarter data showed a 2.5 percent rise in GDP, compared with 1.3 percent in the second quarter. NAR expects U.S. GDP growth of 1.8 percent for the full year in 2011, with 2.3 percent GDP growth in 2012.
NAR's Pending Home Sales Index, which measures real estate sales contracts signed but not yet closed, increased 6.4 percent year over year, to 84.5, in September. An index score of 100 is equal to the average level of sales contract activity in 2001, which was the first year examined by the trade group.
The index rose on an annual basis in all four U.S. regions. In the West, the index jumped 5.6 percent on a year-over-year basis in September, to 105.8 -- the highest index value of any region.
In its latest economic forecast, NAR projects 4.955 million sales of resale homes this year, and 5.169 million existing-home sales in 2012.
The median price of a new home is projected to rise 1.8 percent this year, to $225,000, and jump 3.5 percent in 2012.
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See full article featured in Inman News, "Pending home sales index rises from one year ago"
