Home prices are on the rise once again since the 07-09 era. Sales did fall by a mere 1.2 percent this past month, however, this most likely was a result of the latest mortgage rate increase.
“According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased 0.53 percentage point in June to 4.07 percent, its highest level since October 2011. Still, mortgage rates remain low and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last week expressed optimism the housing market recovery would continue.”
Despite the small pullback in sales, it seems as though the real estate market as a whole is headed upwards. The median price for a home now currently sits at $214,200, up almost 14 percent from this time last year.
“In another sign of underlying strength, properties are selling more quickly. A home’s median time on the market in June was 37 days. That was down from 41 days in May and 70 days a year ago, and it was the fewest days since the NAR started monitoring that number in May 2011. Before the market collapsed in 2006, it usually took about 90 days to sell a home.”
This is a huge advantage to home owners looking to sell their property, and quickly. As for buyers, the window to make an offer on a currently listed home is getting that much smaller.
First time residential home buyers are still getting pushed around by local and foreign investors, and are only accounting for 29 percent of purchases, compared to the ‘norm’ of 40-45 percent.
To read the full article (By Lucia Mutikani), visit http://money.msn.com/home-loans/news.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20130722&id=16688871
