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1650 RUSSELL LEE DR. |
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LOUISVILLE, KY 40211 |
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LP. $169,975 |
Status |
ACTIVE |
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1455
CYPRESS ST |
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LOUISVILLE, KY 40210 |
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3150
N. HWY 53 |
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LA
GRANGE, KY 40031 |
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LP. $475,000 |
Status |
ACTIVE |
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1115
WEEPING WILLOW |
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LA
GRANGE, KY 40031 |
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Big Rebound in Existing-Home Sales Shows
First-Time Buyer Momentum
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RISMEDIA, October 26,
2009—Existing-home sales bounced back strongly
in September with first-time buyers driving much
of the activity, marking five gains in the past
six months, according to the National
Association of Realtors®. Existing-home
sales–including single-family, townhomes,
condominiums and co-ops–jumped 9.4% to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million
units in September from a level of 5.10 million
in August, and are 9.2% higher than the 5.10
million-unit pace in September 2008. Sales
activity is at the highest level in over two
years, since it hit 5.73 million in July 2007.
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Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said favorable
conditions matched with a tax credit are boosting home
sales. “Much of the momentum is from people responding
to the first-time buyer tax credit, which is freeing
many sellers to make a trade and buy another home,” he
said. “We are hopeful the tax credit will be extended
and possibly expanded to more buyers, at least through
the middle of next year, because the rising sales
momentum needs to continue for a few additional quarters
until we reach a point of a self-sustaining recovery.”
Even with the improvement, Yun said the market is
underperforming. “Despite spectacular gains in the stock
market, principally from the financial sector recovery,
most of the 75 million home owning families have more
wealth tied to their homes. Home values could soon turn
consistently positive and help the broad base of
middle-class families, but we are not there yet,” he
said. “We’re getting early indications of price
stabilization, but we need a steady supply of qualified
buyers to meaningfully bring inventories down and return
us to a period of normal, steady price growth and to
fully remove consumer fears, which would then revive the
broader economy. Without a firm foundation for
middle-class wealth recovery, the post-recession
economic growth likely will be one of the weakest in
U.S. history.”
Early information from a large annual consumer study to
be released November 13, the 2009 National Association
of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, shows
that first-time home buyers accounted for more than 45%
of home sales during the past year. A separate
practitioner survey shows that distressed homes
accounted for 29% of transactions in September.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell
Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said
affordability conditions remain historically high.
“Potential first-time buyers can take heart in that
affordability conditions this year are the highest on
record dating back to 1970, but with the first-time
buyer tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of next
month, people could hold back from entering the market,”
he said. “Our read is that housing overshot on the
downside because homes are selling for less than
replacement construction costs in much of the country,
and the home price-to-income ratio has fallen below the
historical average,” McMillan said.
Total housing inventory at the end of September fell
7.5% to 3.63 million existing homes available for sale,
which represents an 7.8-month supply at the current
sales pace, down from an 9.3-month supply in August.
Unsold inventory totals are 15.0% below a year ago.
“The current housing supply is the lowest we’ve seen in
two and a half years,” Yun said. “If we could continue
to absorb inventory at this pace, home prices would
return to normal, modest appreciation patterns next
year.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average
commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate
mortgage fell to 5.06% in September from 5.19% in
August; the rate was 6.04% in September 2008. The
national median existing-home price for all housing
types was $174,900 in September, which is 8.5% lower
than September 2008. Distressed properties continue to
downwardly distort the median price because they
generally sell at a discount relative to traditional
homes in the same area.
Single-family home sales rose 9.4% to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million in September from a
pace of 4.47 million in August, and are 7.7% above the
4.54 million-unit level in September 2008. The median
existing single-family home price was $174,900 in
September, which is 8.1% below a year ago. Existing
condominium and co-op sales jumped 9.7% to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 680,000 units in September from
620,000 in August, and are 9.7% above the 561,000-unit
pace a year ago. The median existing condo price was
$175,100 in September, down 11.7% from September 2008.
Northeast
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast
increased 4.4% to an annual level of 950,000 in
September, and are 11.8% higher than September 2008. The
median price in the Northeast was $234,700, down 7.0%
from a year ago.
Midwest
Existing-home sales in the Midwest jumped 9.6% in
September to a pace of 1.25 million and are 7.8% above a
year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $147,600,
which is 1.0% below September 2008.
South
In the South, existing-home sales rose 9.0% to an annual
level of 2.06 million in September and are 10.8% higher
than September 2008. The median price in the South was
$153,500, down 7.6% from a year ago.
West
Existing-home sales in the West surged 13.0% to an
annual rate of 1.30 million in September and are 5.7%
above a year ago. The median price in the West was
$219,000, which is 15.0% below September 2008.
For more top headlines on RISMedia.com, be sure to see:
Taking Advantage of Negotiation – U.S. Homebuyers Paid
$7,039 Less Than Listing Price in July
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start searching for your NEW HOME!!!
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George
Blissett, REALTORS®, eRES, FTHBD, SRIS, SNCS,
SRS, MSS
Semonin REALTORS, 4967 US Hwy 42, Suite
100,
Louisville, KY 40222
Phone: 502.329.5268 Toll Free:
1.800.626.2390
©2001-2009 Semonin REALTORS. A
HomeServices of America, Inc. company. All
rights reserved.
Email:
webmanster@georgeblissett.com |
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