AUGUST HOME SALES BEHIND PACE SET IN 2013, AHEAD OF FIVE YEARS PRIOR
Prices better than last year and continue to lead housing performance statewide

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – There were just 276 less homes sold statewide in August than during the same month of last year, a 3.6 percent decrease; however, last month's home sales outpaced the five years prior to 2013. This is according to the Indiana Real Estate Markets Report today released by the state's REALTORS®.

August home sale prices were better than last year. The median sale price of $130,000 is a 4.0 percent increase from 2013, and the average of $159,846 is a 6.1 percent increase.

Other year-over-year comparisons from the report show -

• The number of pending home sales increased 4.4 percent to 6,889
• The percent of original list price received increased 1.6 percent to 94.2
• The number of new listings decreased 6.7 percent to 10,327
• The inventory of homes for sale increased 4.8 percent to 47,901

"Activity may fall a bit short of the impressive levels it reached last year, but housing has performed much stronger altogether than predicted the first of the year, with prices leading the charge," said Karl Berron, CEO of the Indiana Association of REALTORS®.

"It's encouraging to see second quarter GDP growth revised upwards and stronger-than-expected jobs numbers in recent months," continued Berron. "Wage growth is the fuel necessary for recovery to really take off."

Source: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/MessageViewer?amp;autologin=true&dlv_id=342549&em_id=364213.0

More home buyers may jump off the sidelines this spring as they get more urgent about purchasing a home, fearing that home price and mortgage rate increases are on the horizon.

Housing surveys in recent weeks have shown that more Americans are seeing now a great time to purchase a home. In the most recent survey, 73 percent of Americans say now is a good time to buy, according to the latest Fannie Mae Housing Survey conducted in March. That’s up from 70 percent in February who said it was a great time to buy.

"Conditions are coming together to encourage people to want to buy homes," says Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist. "With an increasing share of consumers expecting higher mortgage rates and home prices over the next 12 months, some may feel that renting is becoming more costly and that home ownership is a more compelling housing choice."

Indeed, more buyer urgency is evident in the market. Thirty-three percent of those surveyed by Fannie say they expect home prices soon to increase, which is the highest percentage in a year. What’s more, nearly 40 percent say they expect mortgage rates to rise in the next year too, which is also up from previous surveys.

Coupled with that, 48 percent of Americans say they expect rents to continue to climb, and 44 percent say they expect their financial situation to improve in the next year.

Source: “More Americans Think It’s Time to Buy a Home,” MSN Real Estate (April 9, 2012)