Pending Home Sales Increase Again!

Over the past week, Century 21 Farm & Forest has put 15 properties under contract. Market activity has picked up substantially and based on the stats above and below, buyers are making their moves!

News Reported from VAR below.

PENDING HOME SALES UP AGAIN (WASHINGTON) – NAR reports pending home sales were up for a fifth consecutive month in June, rising 3.6 percent to 94.6 from May. The index was 6.7 percent above June 2008, when it was 88.7. It was the fifth consecutive month the Realtors have reported improvement in pending home sales.Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said activity had been strong in the lower-priced categories. "Because it may take as long as two months to close on a home after signing a contract, first-time buyers must act fairly soon to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit because they must close on the sale by November 30,” he said.

AP SAYS GAP BETWEEN RENTING AND BUYING NARROWING (NEW YORK) – An Associated Press analysis of 45 metro areas has found the gap between owning a home and renting one is about $221 per month, an indication, it says, that more renters may soon make the leap to homeownership. The wire service survey found that in Cleveland, Atlanta, Indianapolis and St. Louis the gap was less than $100 per month. It predicted that with home prices still declining, that gap would narrow further. The AP noted that the $8,000 first-time homebuyer incentive plan, as well as affordability, should help the housing market improve for the remainder of the year.