The real estate market continues to show improvement as mortgage rates remain at historic lows and consumers respond to the tax credits for first-time and repeat buyers. In fact, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) just announced that its Pending Home Sales Index rose 1 percent from November. A forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, the index is now 10 percent above December, 2008. What’s more, December activity was the fifth highest monthly tally in two years. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not yet closed. Because sales usually are finalized within one or two months of signing the contract, this improvement should result in higher home sales in the coming months.
According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, existing home sales are projected to rise to around 5.6 million in 2010, an 8.5 percent increase over 2009. As sales rise and inventory levels decline, housing wealth for many middle class families will stabilize.
