SALES OF EXISTING HOMES LEAP TO 2-YEAR RECORD!

As repoted by the AP on Friday, October 23rd, in September the sales of existing homes jumped to two year record. The expiration of the “First Time Homeowners” tax credit was widely attributed for the jump, although the magnitude of the increase has still defied expectations. Sales rose 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million homes in the month of September. This is more than 4% above the sales expected according to a survey of economists conducted by Thomson Reuters. The median sales price of $174,900 was still down over 8% from year-ago prices, and down just over 1% from August. Unsold homes inventory dropped to 3.63 million homes, meanings that there remains less than 8 month supply of housing on the market, a low that has not been since since March of 2007. While sales are up nationally about 24%, they remain down 23% over sales from the boom period in 2005.Some housing experts and economists predict a “double dip” as unemployment remains very high and new inventory comes onto the market in the form of additional foreclosed homes. Others believe that we are in the stages of an advanced “mini-boom” that may indicate that the worst may indeed be over. It’s anybody’s guess where things will be a few months down the road, but certainly the market in New York City is showing evidence of a resurgence in healthy buying and looking activity. I've been telling my clients interested in purchasing, that over the past few weeks there has been a noteable increase in both calls from interested purchasers as well as attendance at open houses. I have even seen a couple of bidding wars, which once the norm in New York City, have not been regularly seen for many many months. It certainly feels like a housing recovery is well underway.