Economy
Buyers Push Housing Re-sale to 6 1/2 Year High
Written by Sandy Williams
September 19, 2013
Buyers looking to snag a low mortgage before rates rise too high pushed home re-sales to its highest pace since February 2007. Existing home sales rose 1.7 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million from 5.39 million in July. The increase is likely to be temporary however, said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist.
“Rising mortgage interest rates pushed more buyers to close deals, but monthly sales are likely to be uneven in the months ahead from several market frictions,” said Yun. “Tight inventory is limiting choices in many areas, higher mortgage interest rates mean affordability isn’t as favorable as it was, and restrictive mortgage lending standards are keeping some otherwise qualified buyers from completing a purchase.”
A still tight housing inventory increased in August by 0.4 percent to 2.25 million existing homes for sale—a 4.9 month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 5 month supply in July and still below the 6 month balance point between supply and demand.
Median home price increased to $212,100, up 14.7 percent from the same period last year. Limited inventory has pushed selling prices up, with 17 percent of homes sold above the asking price in August said Yen. Mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed 4.46 percent in August from 4.37 percent in July, according to Freddie Mac.
Regionally, sales in the Northeast were unchanged, the South was up 3.8 percent and the Midwest gained 3.1 percent. Sales in the West declined by 2.3 percent but tight inventory pushed the median price to $287,500—well above the median price in the other regions and the national average.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Economy
CRU: Will US tariff policy be transactional or transformational?
The Trump 1.0 tariffs appeared to have little positive effect on the US manufacturing, partly because they hurt export competitiveness.
Beige Book finds mixed demand trends, tariff concerns
Manufacturing activity exhibited slight to modest increases across a majority of districts. However, manufacturers expressed concerns over the potential impact of looming trade policy changes between late January and February.
Construction spending drops marginally in January
Construction spending edged down slightly in January, slipping for the first time in four months. The US Census Bureau estimated spending at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,196 billion in January, down 0.2% from December’s downward revised rate. The January figure is 3.3% higher than a year ago. January’s result, despite the slight erosion, […]
ISM: Manufacturing expansion slowed in February
The Manufacturing PMI registered 50.3% in February. That’s 0.6 percentage points lower compared to the 50.9% recorded in January.
Chicago Business Barometer up but still pointing to weak conditions
The Chicago Business Barometer rose to an eight-month high in February. Despite the recovery, the measure continues to indicate deteriorating business conditions, as it has for over a year.