National Existing Homes Sales the Strongest in 7 Years
There is some good news for individuals who are currently trying to sell their Home. According to recent statistics, home sales are now the strongest they've been in the last seven years. While the national real estate market has clearly gone through some tough times since the 2008 recession began, there is some pent-up demand for home sales that is fueling a slow but steady recovery. Record low interest rates and a slight rise in resales this past December show that those who are currently trying to sell a property have a considerable chance at finding a buyer in the coming months.
Home sales in 2013 show that home sales of existing homes have been the strongest in 7 years, which is bringing some optimism to the real estate industry as a sign that the market is gaining health. Home resales rose through December, as was expected according to a poll of economists given by Reuters earlier in 2013. Although resales had gone down due to increases in the interest rates of mortgages, there has been some new development activity among builders that shows that the demand for properties is out there despite multi-decade lows in household formation.
The obstacles that the housing market still faces include rising prices in combination with the fact that incomes do not seem to be growing proportionally across the country. Despite the fact that home sales were the strongest in 2013 that they have been in seven years, the median price for an existing home has risen alarming– by almost 10 percent– between December of 2012 and December of 2013.
The rise in home prices can be attributed to the fact that there is a shortage of available homes on the market. Due to market uncertainty, many homeowners who would otherwise put their homes up for sale are reluctant to attempt to find a buyer. The number of unsold properties on the market has fallen significantly over the last few months, and scarcity in available prices is contributing to rises in home values.
However, the pick-up in the market that was shown in 2013 will hopefully continue and encourage would-be sellers to put their homes up for sale. Ideally, this will lead to a stabilization of home prices across the country.
