Tired of hearing negative news about real estate, and market bashing by the media? Well, it is up to us to refuse to be brought down by all of the negativity. Come, join me in taking a new perspective and let's focus on some positive news. The markets in many areas of our country are bottoming out. Buyers are perceiving that the time to get off the fence is now and they ARE buying. Being realistic, we know that prices are not going to turn completely around in one year. However, I believe we will slowly start seeing the end of price depreciation and, most of our down markets will slowly start turning around. Within the next five years, I predict we will again see activity return to the baby boomer retirement markets, and to the warmer climates. The demand is out there still! Sales of existing housing rose 3% in January. See the following article I took from MarketWatch.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of existing U.S. homes rose 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.46 million in January, the highest sales pace in seven months, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
It was the largest percentage gain in two years. Sales were down 4.3% year-on-year, the highest since last March
The increase in sales is encouraging although it's uncertain whether the positive growth rate can be maintained with the return to more-normal winter temperatures as we move into 2007," wrote Paul Ferley, an economist for BMO Nesbitt Burns. "As well, some caution is still warranted on the possibility of housing spilling over into other areas of the economy given the return to declining home prices."
Resales of single-family homes rose 3.5% to 5.69 million annualized, while condo resales fell 0.1% to 767,000 annualized.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting sales to rise to about 6.30 million.
The results were "surprisingly strong," said David Lereah, chief economist for the real estate trade group. Lereah said he couldn't be confident that the bottom had been reached, because unusually warm weather earlier helped to boost sales in January.
Inventories of unsold homes on the market rose 2.9% to 3.55 million, a 6.6-month supply.
The median sales price fell 3.1% year-over-year to $210,600. "The price correction is working," Lereah said.
Prices fell the most in the West, which had been the hottest region for price appreciation. Median prices are down 4.6% in the West, which could reflect slower sales in relatively high-priced California and faster sales in cheaper areas such as Utah, Idaho and New Mexico.
In a separate report, Standard & Poor's said national home prices fell 0.7% in the fourth quarter, the fastest decline in 14 years. In the past year, home prices are up 0.4%, according to the Case-Shiller index, which compares sales of the same homes over time.
Revisions to historic data show the pace of existing-home sales in December was slightly higher than previously reported at 6.27 million vs. 6.22 million. The supply of homes on the market was revised down to 3.45 million from 3.51 million.
Regionally, sales rose 5.6% in January in the West, 4.8% in the Midwest, 2% in the South and were unchanged in the Northeast.
In other reports, the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods plunged 7.8% in January.
The consumer confidence index rose to a five-year high of 112.5 in February from 110.3 in January, the Conference Board reported.
