Minnesota Homes Today Local & National News

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Buyers Guide
    • Sellers Guide
    • Buyer Info
    • Seller Info
    • Closing Costs
    • Home Appraisal
    • Home Inspection
    • Loan Checklist
    • Loan Process
    • Loan Programs
  • Contact

Pending Home Sales Index Posts Second Best Month Since April 2010

January 27, 2012 by Bob Elliot Leave a Comment

Pending Home Sales 2011

After 3 consecutive months of growth, the housing market appears to have eased a bit in December.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, December’s Pending Home Sales Index slipped 4 percent from the month prior. The index measures the number of homes under contract to sell nationwide, but not yet sold.

Despite falling below its benchmark “100 value”, December’s Pending Home Sales Index is the reading’s second-highest value since April 2010 — the last month of last year’s home buyer tax credit program.

In other words, the housing market continues to show signs of improvement, propelled by low home prices and the cheapest mortgage rates of all-time.

Freddie Mac’s mortgage rate survey put the 30-year fixed rate mortgage at an average of 3.96% in December — a 75-basis point improvement from December 2010. This helps to make homes more affordable nationwide.

On a regional basis, December’s Pending Home Sales Index varied :

  • Northeast Region: -3.1 percent from November 2011
  • Midwest Region : +4.0 percent from November 2011 
  • South Region : -2.6 percent from November 2011
  • West Region : -11.0 percent from November 2011

But even regional data is only so helpful. Like everything in real estate, data must be local to be relevant.

Throughout the West Region, for example, the U.S. region in which pending home sales fell the most, several states must have performed better than the regional average. And, undoubtedly, there were cities, towns, and neighborhoods that experienced marked market growth.

Unfortunately, the Pending Home Sales Index can’t capture that data. Nor can it identify the markets in which home sales suffered.

For today’s St Paul home buyers and sellers, therefore, it’s important to understand your local market and the drivers of local activity. Reports like the Pending Home Sales Index can paint a broad picture U.S. housing but for data that matters to you, you’ll want to look local.

For local real estate data Minnesota Real Estate Today

Filed Under: Housing Analysis Tagged With: NAR, Pending Home Sales Index, PHSI

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Bob Elliot

Contact Bob Elliot

Broker Agent
CRS, GRI, CDPE

CALL 612.868.5500
Lic #: 40241196
eXp Realty
Bob Elliot
Free Buyers' Guide →
Free Sellers' Guide →

Connect with Me!

Let’s Keep In Touch!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Realtor EQO

Quick Links

  • About Me
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Blog
  • Contact

Looking For Something?

Categories

Located in St. Paul, Minnesota

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by MySMARTblog