School is officially out for the summer here in Glendora! Although spring is the "official" time of rebirth and change in nature, summer seems to bring about a lot on its own! Everything and everyone seems to grow so much in the summer months! Change is inevitable as we begin summer and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune has posted an article stating how good the market is for buyers!
The article information is listed below ... Please let me know your thoughts and comments about the current state of the market!
Pending home sales rise
By Kevin Smith, Staff Writer
Pending home sales rose unexpectedly in April to their highest reading since October but were still down 13 percent down from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. Lawrence Yun, the association's chief economist, said pending sales contracts have ticked up in areas with the largest price declines such as Detroit and Las Vegas.
"Bargain hunters have entered the market en masse," he said. "Sharp price reductions are leading to a quicker discovery of price equilibrium points." That trend is also occurring in Southern California, although the The California Association of Realtors doesn't compile reports on pending home sales. "Bargain hunters who were on the sidelines are seeing that we're at the bottom - or at least near enough to the bottom - to get into a contract," CAR Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young said Monday. "But you don't really know it's the bottom until six months later when you can look back and make sure you've got a clear trend."
The National Association of Realtors' seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes rose to 88.2 in April from a March reading of 83.0, the lowest since the index was started in 2001. The index stood at 101.5 in April 2007. Wall Street economists polled by Thomson/IFR had predicted the index would remain steady at 83.
A reading of 100 is equal to the average level of sales activity in 2001.
Tom Adams, owner of Century 21 Adams & Barnes, said prospective buyers shouldn't sit on the fence for too long.
"Everything considered, this is a great time to buy," he said. "There's plenty of inventory, prices are down, property taxes are down and interest rates are down." Buyers with good credit who can pull together the down payment and have the ability to repay the debt should have no problem getting a loan, Adams said.
And the market bottom? "I think we'll probably hit the bottom, if I look into my crystal ball ... in the next month or two," Adams said. "I just bought a place in Arizona on the river. I saw an opportunity where two years ago I couldn't have afforded to buy. I took advantage of it."
Global Insight economist Patrick Newport tempered his enthusiasm for the surprising increase in April sales.
"It's good news, but I'm not jumping for joy because I'm not convinced that it's telling us things are picking up," he said "It's telling me that banks are dumping properties at fire sale prices, spurring home sales." Newport noted that inventory remains at record highs and is growing, especially in the West where sales showed a sharp increase.
Appleton-Young said the industry's problems aren't over yet.
As always, if you have any questions about this article I have posted, please feel free to email me at: stacy.dover1@era.com
Be sure to answer the new poll listed on my blog! Thanks to all of you have answered past polls - look for an article utilizing statistics compiled from my last two polls in the the next week!
Happy Summer Home-Shopping!
Stacy
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