Exising Home Sales On The Rise

I am pleased to report that according to something I just read at www.CNNMoney.com, existing home sales are on the rise. According to CNN, existing home sales climbed for the second month in a row in September. The report claims that this has fueled some hope that a housing recovery is underway.

Sales of previously owned homes rose 10% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.53million units last month, the National Association of Realtors reported on Monday. That was up from a 4.12 million rate in August.

The report came in much stronger than expectations. Economists had forecast sales to edge up to an annual rate of 4.25 million units, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.

The gains of the past two months were welcome news, after home sales sank 27% to their lowest level in 15 years in July. While some economists say a housing recovery is underway, a foreclosure moratorium in October may have a negative impact on next month's report.

"A housing recovery is taking place but will be choppy at times depending on the duration and impact of a foreclosure moratorium," Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said in a press release. "But the overall direction should be a gradual rising trend in home sales, with buyer responding to historically low mortgage interest rates and very favorable affordability conditions."

In the Atlanta metro area there are currently 68,092 Active listings on the market on Friday, October 29th. Currently, there are 6,901 homes that are showing up as Pending Sale. In August, 3,156 homes were sold in the Metro Atlanta area. In September, 3,175 homes were sold in the Atlanta metro area. Although the numbers are not completed for October, the total SOLD in the metro Atlanta area so far in October and as I write this at 6:00PM is 2,185. The October figures will not be final for at least another two weeks. I will share them when I receive them. In the meantime, albeit a slow recovery, things are looking up! Smile and have a safe and happy Trick-or-Treat Weekend!

Sara Hibbard is a licensed Realtor in the state of Georgia serving the Atlanta metro area. Call Sara with all your real estate needs and questions. Sara is easily reached by calling 770-399-8108.