Go Back To Article List

Home Sales Improve in December

Posted Monday, January 30, 2012

Are you asking yourself, "should I sell my house?" If you are, then the answer may be a yes, considering the three month consecutive pace increase for home sales last 2011. According to several real estate experts and surveyors, home sales during the month of December have reached the highest tread in almost a year. This significant change coexisted with other effects that the troubled US real estate market enhanced during the end of last year. Analysts warn that sales remain to be historically flat and that it would take a few years for the industry to return back to its optimal condition. Yet still, the three month consecutive sales improvement gave people the encouragement they need after years and years of low home sales statistics. Economists also noted that the conditions are in place for further improvements within this year.

With prices declining drastically and mortgage rates being lower than ever, house contractors are a bit more hopeful due to more and more people saying that they may be open to purchasing a house this year. During the month of December, sales rose up by surprising amounts. It increased on an occasional basis over 10% in the Northeast US, 8.3% in the Midwest US, 2.6% in the Western US and 2.9% in South US. Sales of pre-occupied properties also increased by up to 5% to an occasionally adjusted yearly rate of 4.61m in the last month of 2011, according to a report by the National Association of Realtor. Moreover, the statistics was deemed as the best level since January of 2011. For the entire year of 2011, sales amounted only a low 4.26m, which is considerably higher than 2010's 4.19m home sales. Still, it is far behind the 6 million in sales that economists and experts correlate with a lucrative home market. A great example would be last 2005, where home sales amounted up to a booing 7.1m.

Employment has also increased, which is a relatively crucial factor for housing rebounds. Fewer employees sought after unemployment gains last week than at any given time in almost four years. This may serve as a solid evidence of far lower amount of layoffs. The unemployment statistics have fallen in December to its flattest level in almost three years, which is quite alarming. Meanwhile, the median sales value of a pre-occupied property slightly increased by 0.3% from the month of November to December with a $164,500 increase, If you've been planning to sell your house for quite some time now and has been asking the same old question again and again of "when should I sell my house?", now maybe the best time to do so.