Category — Real Estate News

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently announced that the fact that existing home sales increased in the fourth quarter of 2009, may have helped home sale prices to stop declining.

Existing home sales reached 6.03 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, which was an increase of 13.9% from third quarter sales. Even with a decline in sales figures in December 2009, the fourth quarter still concluded up.  

The economic crisis and tumultuous real estate market includes an ever increasing unemployment rate and drops in home prices. The financial environment has also caused the number of homes being sold using short sales to increase. With short sale transactions limiting the loss to the lender, many lenders and borrowers are averting foreclosure and opting for short sales instead.  

HR 3548, also known as the Worker, Homeownership and Business Act of 2009, and better known for its provision of the first time homebuyers’ credit, doesn’t only exist to help consumers become homeowners. Its establishment is to help the housing market as a whole. This help extends to homebuilders across the nation struggling to make ends meet over the past few years.  

When you’re assembling your dynamite real estate team, you have to decide whether or not to include a lawyer. Depending on your locale, lawyers can handle everything from closings to negotiating a deal – or getting you out of a bad deal. Some buyers may never need a lawyer, but there are times when a lawyer is indispensable.  

When the housing market hits its bottom, the only place it can really go is up, right? The problem is that when the housing market hits its bottom (or if it already has), most people wouldn’t recognize the signs anyway. Here are some signs that the market has reached its lowest point, so you can watch for and recognize it when it happens.  

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) and many other interested parties won their fight for Congress to expand and extend the tax credit for first time homebuyers. To date, the tax credit is responsible for generating $22 billion and offering two million people home ownership with a tax incentive.  

The Pending Home Sales Index calculates the number of pending home purchase contracts in effect. The number of contracts signed in September increased by 6.1% over the August numbers and is 21.2% higher than September of 2008. Many real estate professionals, such as the National Association of Realtors (NAR) economist Lawrence Yun, associate this increase with the record number of first time homebuyers that are taking advantage of the first time homebuyers’ credit that is close to expiring.  

The numbers and are in for existing home sales for the month of September. And the results favor the effectiveness of the first-time homebuyers’ credit program. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), five consecutive months of the last six months have shown an increase in existing home sales, which the organization directly associates with the incentive program.  

All good things must (and usually do) end, and it’s no secret that the First Time Homebuyer’s Credit expiration date is looming. The National Association of Realtors, along with countless real estate agents and lending institutions are waving the last lap flag in the race to buying a first home. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allows for up to $8000 tax credit to a first time home buyer that closes a loan on the purchase of a primary residence on or before November 30, 2009. 

Even though home sales numbers and prices seem to be going in the right direction, the indication for homebuilders doesn’t seem to be heading in the same direction. Moody’s Investor Service, in fact, recently reported that it expects homebuilder companies’ numbers to decrease by approximately 8% in the upcoming year.