Home Sales Increase by a Surprising Amount During April 2010: Sign of Economic Recovery?

An article by admin    No Comments

The home market of the United States has suffered greatly in the past few years. Foreclosures are at epic levels, and banks have been falling like flies as more and more of their homeowners lose their homes. It has been a serious situation and many investors are hoping that the bad times are in the past and better times for homeowners and banks are ahead.

The home market in 2008 and 2009 was nothing short of awful. It was a horrible time to be investing in real estate and it was a horrible time to be a homeowner. Millions of people were losing their homes and the purchase of homes was down to its lowest levels in decades. Many investors were worried about just how low the real estate market was going to go, but it appears that things may be improving in 2010 and that is good news to many homeowners and real estate investors.

Home Sales are Improving

Pending home sales in the United States went up by just over eight percent in February, which is making some investors think that the housing market is improving thanks to the tax credit created by the government to help spur home buying. According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales rose from a 90.2 reading in January to 97.6 in February. Real estate agents feel that this is the sign of a second surge in home sales coming thanks to the home-buyer tax credit. The reading indicator is based on contracts that have been signed to purchase homes, but is not a representation of the finalization of the purchases. This usually comes two months after signing the contract.

Pending home sales in February 2010 were 17.3 percent higher than they were in 2009, when the index for February was only 83.2.

The tax credit offered by the government is aimed to revive the housing sector by giving credits to individuals buying their first homes, but this tax credit only lasts until April 30.

The increase in home sales was a big surprise to experts who were expecting a slip due to the big winter storms that had hit the country during that month.

Will the upward trend continue?

Will this continue? Well, the real test will be to see if things continue to improve in May, after the tax credit has expired. If home sales continue to increase and foreclosures go down, then there is a good chance that the housing market will keep recovering. Many experts in the United States hope the housing market recovers like Canada’s which has seen huge growth for a year now, which has helped to lift up the entire economy of the northern neighbor to the United States.

The housing market continues to improve and many experts hope that this stays the case for months to come. With the tax credit and increases in February, only time will tell if things improve for the American housing market.

Further Reading:

Rise & Fall of US Economy

TradeMonster Reviews