Real State

Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 2:54pm EDT  

Pending home sales rise

South Florida Business Journal

Low interest rates, combined with a large selection of affordable homes, are luring more potential homebuyers back into the market.

The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales – those homes on which contracts have been written – were up 3.6 percent in June from May and 6.7 percent higher than a year ago.

This is the fifth consecutive monthly gain. The last time there were five consecutive monthly gains was in July 2003, according to NAR.

The Pending Home Sales Index for June jumped 7.1 percent in the South, and is 8.9 percent higher than a year ago.

However, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted that “a monthly rise in home prices and somewhat higher mortgage interest rates led to a modest decline in affordability in June.”

Still, he expects existing-home sales to gradually rise over the rest of the year.

“It appears home sales are on a sounder footing and inventory is gradually being absorbed,” Yun said in a news release.