BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — Pending home sales improved for the second straight month in April, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Pending home sales improved for the second straight month in April, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Gains in the Midwest and Northeast offset declines in the West and South.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 0.4 percent to 97.8 in April from 97.4 in March, but is 9.2 percent below April 2013 when it was 107.7.
Lawrenece Yun
“Higher inventory levels are giving buyers more choices, and a slight decline in mortgage interest rates this spring is raising prospective home buyers’ confidence,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
“An uptrend in closed sales is expected, although some months will encounter a modest setback.”
Yun projects the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will trend up and average 5.5 percent next year.
“The extent to which higher mortgage interest rates will impact housing affordability and sales depends on income growth, ongoing improvement in the labor market and any change to mortgage underwriting conditions,” he says.
The PHSI in the Northeast increased 0.6 percent to 79.3 in April, but is 12.0 percent below a year ago.
Yun projects the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will trend up and average 5.5 percent next year.
In the Midwest the index rose 5.0 percent to 99.2 in April, but is 6.9 percent below April 2013. Pending home sales in the South slipped 0.6 percent to an index of 111.9 in April, and are 6.4 percent below a year ago.
The index in the West declined 2.9 percent in April to 88.4, and is 15.0 percent below April 2013.
With sub-par activity in the first quarter, Yun expects annual existing-home sales to be modestly below the nearly 5.1 million in 2013 but close to 5.3 million in 2015.
The national median existing-home price is projected to grow between 5 and 6 percent this year, and in the range of 4 to 5 percent in 2015.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bobby Freeman
Bobby Freeman, a life-time resident of Brevard County, has been a top Realtor in the area for two decades. In his first year as an agent, Freeman received a Rising Star award from his Brokers. Since then he has achieved numerous sales awards and has recently been presented with the prestigious RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award.
Freeman, Jennifer McCoy and Nikki McCoy Freeman are family partners for RE/MAX Elite’s McCoy-Freeman Group. Together they have more than 30 years of extensive experience in all aspects of the real estate industry and have sold over $200 million.
Among McCoy-Freeman Group’s achievement are RE/MAX Hall of Fame, RE/MAX 100% Club, Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE), Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR) and voted Best Realtor in Brevard County.
The group has been featured in many news publications including CNN Money Magazine, CNNMoney.com, WFTV 9 ABC News, Coastal Condo Living, & Hot Retirement Towns Magazine and SpaceCoastDaily.com.
