According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales rose 5 percent in December and were 3.6 percent higher than in December 2010. This is the third consecutive month that existing-home sales have improved.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said these are early signs of what may be a sustained recovery. “The pattern of home sales in recent months demonstrates a market in recovery,” he said. “Record low mortgage interest rates, job growth and bargain home prices are giving more consumers the confidence they need to enter the market.”
Total housing inventory at the end of December dropped 9.2 percent to a 6.2-month supply at the current sales pace. Available inventory has trended down since setting a record in July 2007, and is at the lowest level since March 2005.
“The inventory supply suggests many markets will see prices stabilize or grow moderately in the near future,” Yun said.
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 10.7 percent in December and are 3.3 percent above a year ago.
I did a quick comparison of December sales in Basking Ridge each year since I started selling Real estate (2002 through 2011) according to the MLS:
Year/Sales
2002/26
2003/26
2004/25
2005/28
2006/27
2007/14
2008/15
2009/22
2010/16
2011/29
Sales in Basking Ridge in December, 2011 were way up over December 2009. I’m not sure what this data tells us – but it’s kind of interesting to look at. This sort of post always makes me think about the fact that sometimes we need to reconsider why we are buying real estate… everyone needs a place to live. Real estate as an investment is only one way to look at things. To own real estate as a way to have a vested interest in your own home is another. Something to think about….
