Pending home sales see largest drop in almost a decade

Pending home sales in December fell 4.9% from the prior month, the largest decline in almost a decade, according to a report Wednesday from the National Association of Realtors.
The seasonally adjusted index measuring signed contracts fell because of a shortage of homes on the market, according to Lawerence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. It was the largest drop since May 2010, according to the data.
“The state of housing in 2020 will depend on whether homebuilders bring more affordable homes to the market,” Yun said. “Home prices and even rents are increasing too rapidly, and more inventory would help correct the problem and slow price gains.”
Yun said the markets where listing prices are around $250,000 have the strongest demand, including Fort Wayne, Indiana, Burlington, North Carolina, Topeka, Kansas, Pueblo, Colorado, and Columbus, Ohio.
All U.S. regions saw pending home sales fall in December, Yun said. The Northeast, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, slipped 4.0% and the Midwest dropped 3.6%, the NAR report said.
In the South, pending sales fell 5.5% and the West dropped 5.4%.
The shortage of homes on the market is the worst on record, Yun said. The number of single-family homes for sale dropped to 1.45 million in November, the lowest level for that month in a NAR data series that goes back to 1982. The U.S. has added 96.5 million people in the intervening years.
Homebuilders that were sidelined during the Great Recession are beginning to get back in the game. December’s housing starts spiked to a 13-year high, according to government data.

For all of 2020, builders are expected to break ground on 975,000 single-family homes, according to a Fannie Mae forecast. That would be the highest since 2007.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crucial Coronavirus Cleaning Tips: How To Keep Your Home Germ-Free During the Pandemic

Image
How long the virus survives—and where it thrives The novel coronavirus can survive on surfaces anywhere from hours to days. The latest information is that it can last 24 hours on cardboard, 48 to 72 hours on plastic, and 48 to 72 hours on stainless steel, says  Dr. Reuben Elovitz , internist and CEO at  Private Health Dallas , who cited a recent study from the  New England Journal of Medicine . The duration also depends on a few other factors, like temperature and whether a surface is prone to holding moisture. “Wooden handles, for example, are more likely to be damp than metal under normal conditions—and damp conditions can enable many infectious agents to thrive,” explains molecular biologist  Dr. Tracey Evans . “ Furthermore, a warm room is more favorable for many pathogens than a cold one.” Regardless of what kinds of temperatures and surfaces you have in your home, there are things you can do to keep these dangerous pathogens at bay. Ditch germs at ...
Read more

7 Ways to Create a Neighborly Front Yard

Image
1. Shade the Sidewalk Consider placing a tree where it will shade the sidewalk to help create a pleasant environment and encourage walking and visiting among neighbors. Trees provide rain and sun protection, and temperature differentials of 5 to 15 degrees are felt when walking on tree-canopied streets. In urban areas trees help mitigate the  heat-island effect  and provide a connection to nature. Most cities require permits for adding trees to a parkway (or hell strip), but permits are not usually required for planting on private property. Sean Papich Landscape Architecture 2. Set the Fence Back Placing a low fence or wall back a few feet from the edge of the sidewalk allows room for planting, and plants provide visual interest for pedestrians. In addition to cheerful  daisies  like these, velvety plants such as  lamb’s ears  ( Stachys byzantina ;   USDA zones 4 to 9;  find your zone ) would work well. June Scott Design ...
Read more

What’s New in Outdoor Lighting Design

Image
Linear Lighting There’s a trend toward the more extensive integration of lighting with modern hardscape elements. Sleek, minimalist linear step lighting illuminates a path while keeping light fixtures hidden from view. It also enables you to more easily highlight an architectural feature, such as stairs or a freestanding wall.  ZEN Associates, Inc. Laurie Ghielmetti Floating Structures Another trend is placing lights beneath landscape structures, creating the illusion that they are floating-- light is hidden to visually float steps, benches, bridges and other outdoor landscape elements. dSPACE Studio Ltd, AIA BEGA North America Sleek, Modern Fixtures A big trend is to use path lights that look more architectural, rather than the traditional flower or mushroom shapes. Pistils Landscape Design + Build Nightfall Landscape Lighting Low-Voltage Lighting While low-voltage lighting is not necessarily a new concept,...
Read more