Pending Home Sales Indicate Stabilizing Market

YES!!!! It's a good time for Buyers and Sellers now!!!

While pending home sales continued to edge down this month amidst the subprime fallout, NAR expects activity in the housing market to stabilize in the near-term, according to a recent report.

The Association's Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator that gauges home sales activity for upcoming months, declined for the second consecutive month in April, falling 10.2 percent from a year ago to a reading of 101.4. While a PHSI of 100 or more generally indicates a high level of home sales activity, the April PHSI was the lowest reading in four years.

"It looks like we may be leaving a period of market disruptions, and for the past two months the pending home sales index has been similar in year-ago comparisons, which means home sales might ease but should be fairly stable in the months ahead," said NAR Senior Economist Lawrence Yun.

The PHSI declined across the nation in April compared with the readings a year ago. On a regional basis, the PHSI was highest in the South, where it declined 10.4 percent to 116. In the West, the index fell 11.7 percent to 91.4. The PHSI also declined in the Midwest and Northeast regions, decreasing to 98.1 and 89.3, respectively.

***Taken from the California Association of Realtors Bulletin, dated June 6th, 2007.