INDUSTRY NEWS
Some recent positive signs for homebuyers and sellers:
- The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.3 percent in July.
- Existing-home sales rose in July for the fourth straight month, and are at the highest level since September 2013. (NAR).
- The Realtor.com July National Housing Trend Report shows that the market posted the largest spring gains in three years.
- In July, single-family housing starts rose 10 percent from a year earlier to the highest level of the year. (U.S. Department of Commerce).
BY THE NUMBERS
According to a newly released Reuters poll of 29 housing analysts, investors and economists, the strengthening job market has made them more confident about the direction of the housing market over the next two years. The survey respondents expect existing-home sales to increase from the current 5.09 million units to 5.25 million units in the first three months of 2015. Furthermore, they expect home resales to continue to inch up next year, reaching 5.29 million by the second quarter of 2015. The poll attributed this confidence in the housing market to the consistent job growth seen over the last six consecutive months.
