Thread: How's Your 4th Quarter? U.S. pending home sales jump to nearly a 6-year high!

From: Associated Press

U.S. pending home sales jump to nearly a 6-year high

WASHINGTON — An index measuring the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in October jumped to nearly its highest level in almost six years. Steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates have made home buying more attractive.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October. Excluding a few months when the index spiked because of a homebuyer tax credit, that is the highest level since March 2007.

The increase points to healthy sales increases of previously occupied homes in the months ahead. There’s generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.

The rise in sales adds to evidence of a steady housing recovery. Builders are more confident in sales and are starting construction on more homes. Home prices are rising on a consistent basis, which encourages more potential buyers to come off the sidelines and purchase homes. And more people may put their homes on the market if they gain confidence that they can sell at a good price.

The report is "another indicator suggesting that the recovery in housing has broadened and has sustained momentum," Michael Gapen, an economist at Barclays Capital, said in a note to clients.

Signed contracts jumped 15.6 percent in the Midwest and rose 5.5 percent in the South. But they fell 1.1 percent in the West and dipped 0.1 percent in the Northeast.

Superstorm Sandy lowered pending sales in the Northeast, the Realtors’ group said. The West was hurt by low inventories of available homes.

Mortgage rates remained near record lows this week. The average rate on the 30-year loan was 3.32 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said, just above 3.31 percent last week, which was the lowest on records dating to 1971.

A big reason for the rebound in housing is that the excess supply of homes that built up before the housing crisis has finally thinned out. The number of previously occupied homes available for sale has fallen to a 10-year low. The inventory of new homes is also near the lowest level since 1963.

At the same time, more people are looking to buy or rent a home after living with relatives or friends during and immediately after the Great Recession.

Those trends are also pushing up home sales and construction. Sales of previously occupied homes are near five-year highs, excluding temporary spikes in 2009 and 2010 when a homebuyer tax credit boosted purchases.
Builders, meanwhile, are more optimistic that the recovery will endure. A measure of their confidence rose to the highest level in six and a half years this month. And builders broke ground on new homes and apartments at the fastest pace in more than four years last month.

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Can't say that this is a record 4th quarter for me by any means. It's the typical 4th quarter with a back to school and seasonal slow down. Pretty much equal to my 4th quarter from last year. February through August was very good though.

Pretty good news. Real estate sales, mortage/finance and residential construction are huge economic engines. Not looking for a political argument, but the Fed buying up mortages is fueling this recovery. I'm thinkin they made some good decisions.

My October was exactly the same as last year, which was about half of normal. My November has been terrific, almost like 2007 numbers. Early December is looking good as well.
However, even with a good December, I will still finish 2012 well below 2007 numbers, but well ahead of last year. I passed 2011 numbers back in September.

Originally Posted by Garry Blankenship

Pretty good news. Real estate sales, mortgage/finance and residential construction are huge economic engines. Not looking for a political argument, but the Fed buying up mortgages is fueling this recovery. I'm thinking they made some good decisions.

The fed is not buying up mortgages. You and your kids are. They actually have not bought many at all other than bailing out mortgage companies which you and your kids will be paying for.

Just saying!

Oh yeah.And they are looking for hundreds of billions of dollars for programs to spend on that someone is going to have to pay back somehow.

Sorry

Just saying!!!!!

Originally Posted by Ted Menelly

The fed is not buying up mortgages. You and your kids are. They actually have not bought many at all other than bailing out mortgage companies which you and your kids will be paying for.

Just saying!

Oh yeah.And they are looking for hundreds of billions of dollars for programs to spend on that someone is going to have to pay back somehow.

Sorry

Just saying!!!!!

S'all good Ted. Me and my kids will carry this load. You and your kids can be thankful somebody had the intestional fortitude to rescue our market place from the devestation of conservative management.

Not Sorry

Just Saying

Originally Posted by Garry Blankenship

S'all good Ted. Me and my kids will carry this load. You and your kids can be thankful somebody had the intestinal fortitude to rescue our market place from the devastation of conservative management.

Not Sorry

Just Saying

That was a pretty silly statement considering both the Dems and Republicans got us into this mess in equal measures. As far as getting us out of this mess, neither 1 have a plan to do that.

Now as far as your man calling for spending cuts in the hundreds of billions but continuing on to say he wants 1,200,000,000,000 dollars more to spend and the cuts in spending money to be spent someplace else is about the most ignorant thing I've ever heard in my life.

I grew up in Massachusetts I know all about Commonwealth States. It will never work long term.

Anyway! Forth Quarter? Not the greatest by any means. Don't get me wrong. I have had a good year so far. Most between say Feb or March until maybe to mid October. Flattened a bit in the end of October. Fairly crappy off and on for Nov. Dec? Don't know yet.

Originally Posted by Ted Menelly

That was a pretty silly statement considering both the Dems and Republicans got us into this mess in equal measures. As far as getting us out of this mess, neither 1 have a plan to do that.

Now as far as your man calling for spending cuts in the hundreds of billions but continuing on to say he wants 1,200,000,000,000 dollars more to spend and the cuts in spending money to be spent someplace else is about the most ignorant thing I've ever heard in my life.

I grew up in Massachusetts I know all about Commonwealth States. It will never work long term.

Anyway! Forth Quarter? Not the greatest by any means. Don't get me wrong. I have had a good year so far. Most between say Feb or March until maybe to mid October. Flattened a bit in the end of October. Fairly crappy off and on for Nov. Dec? Don't know yet.

Agree no existing political party I know of has an answer for the extreme debt you mentioned. Call me crazy but the best answer I can imagine is for Congress to do nothing. First; they are very good at that. Second; the "Fiscal Cliff" combination of budget cuts and higher taxes would appear the best way to address the deficit and it does have some balance. Take heart; inflation, I believe, is inevitable and the debt will be paid back with inflated dollars, making it a very do-able proposition.

Originally Posted by Garry Blankenship

Agree no existing political party I know of has an answer for the extreme debt you mentioned. Call me crazy but the best answer I can imagine is for Congress to do nothing. First; they are very good at that. Second; the "Fiscal Cliff" combination of budget cuts and higher taxes would appear the best way to address the deficit and it does have some balance. Take heart; inflation, I believe, is inevitable and the debt will be paid back with inflated dollars, making it a very do-able proposition.

I am quite sure the world would not fall apart if there is no agreement. We are already just printing money to live on and that would and is going to happen anyway. Quite frankly the whole idea of anything the Repubs do, agree, disagree, it does not matter the Dems will still have it in their face. Taxes raised on everyone? Well again, they should have never been lowered to begin with. As soon as they were we went into one war and then another. Right wrong or indifferent that small change that everyone was paying over what they are now would not have broken anyone.

The richer you are the more tax rate you ppay??? Well yeah. But the poorer you get you pay no taxes??? Not! At least something from everyone.

PAy for schools with the lottery. That money has been slightly used on that but spent on everything else.....because it was there. Lower social security?

We need money and lots of it. Society will learn someday, maybe not, that when companies become successful it is due to all from top to bottom so instead of the top making multiple millions it has to and must filter down to the low end as well. They were all responsible for the success. Pay them for it.

Anyway. The book has started but i am closing it for now. The have nots are not all bums. The haves should not have to just literally give it all away

The have nots want more and the Rich want to be even more filthy rich.. No compromise so everyone gets a piece of what they work for and the walls will come tumbling down. Keep printing money and the walls will come tumbling down even faster.

A capitalistic society can be a wonderful thing. Living a life totally on greed will kill the society.

Ted Menelly

I'm definitely in the pre-Christmas slow down now. Had a brief flurry last week but no inquiry calls or e-mails so far this week. Just calls from Angie's List trying to get me to buy some overpriced advertising.

At 62, I actually don't mind working half as much. I'm getting some long deferred home maintenance done and fishing more.
As for the pending doom. I thought the Mayan calender made all that moot. Does that mean I have to Christmas shop?
Seriously, bring on the cliff. Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles gave us a workable avenue and we chose to ignore them. Bring it on.
JLMathis

I just ran some numbers and was tickled to see that our business in December 2012 has exceeded that of December 2011 and December 2010 COMBINED. And our phone keeps ringing. Yep, it's a great year!