A report this week from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) presents more evidence that a housing recovery is under way in much of the country. According to NAR, existing home sales rose for the third consecutive month in June to the highest level since October 2008. The last time home sales rose for three straight months was in early 2004 during the housing boom.
According to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, “The increase in existing-home sales occurred in all major regions of the country. We expect a gradual uptrend in sales to continue due to tax credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions.”
There are clear signs that buyer interest is high. A NAR practitioner survey in June showed that first-time buyers are continuing to respond to the limited-time $8,000 federal tax credit. In addition, the number of buyers looking at homes in June was up nearly 12 percentage points from June 2008.
Contact me for more information on the benefits of owning a home; I can also tell you about the first time home buyer credit or set you up for listing alerts.
