Property sales rise though housing costs drop

Nationwide property prices are declining, however home sales are beginning to rise. The past few years have been volatile for real estate. That said, it would appear more individuals are going to loan lender to finance the purchase of a home. However, there is a slight caveat. It’s possible that sales are only increasing due to the low costs.

Homes being bought by buyers

CNN reports the National Association of Realtors explained that more people are buying home with home sales nationwide. Home sales rose 2.7 percent over Jan 2011, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.36 million per year. For the first time in seven months, home sales are over the figures from a year ago. There was a 5.3 percent increase from January 2010. People who haven't had to make their way to a lender to buy the houses have been the ones making this increase happen though. The number of cash purchases was 32 percent of all sales, up from 26 percent in Jan 2010. About 23 percent of sales were to buyers which, in Jan 2010, were only 17 percent.

Too several foreclosures

The discounts on foreclosed properties are what have gotten several cash buyers and investors interested. Bloomberg explains how many properties were distressed. In Jan 2011 home sales, 37 percent had this issue. More houses are accessible at rock bottom costs, and many loan businesses are anxious to get a property off its balance sheet. There aren’t several people who have enough instant money to pay for a property out of pocket, even one sold at half its worth. Since Jan 2010, the median property price went down to $158,800 which is a 3 percent drop.

Continuing to decrease home value

USA Today states that the metropolitan areas are having home values drop drastically. In all however one of the 20 major cities the Standard & Poor's Case Shiller Index tracks, there were drops. Washington D.C. was immune to the drop. It was the only one city without dropping prices. Arizona, California and Florida are all areas where real estate is inflated where drop has been very clear although states in the south like Mississippi and Alabama are having declines also. There might be more of a demand for homes considering the rise in sales.

Information from

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/02/23/real_estate/january_home_sales/index.htm

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-23/sales-of-u-s-existing-homes-climb-to-eight-month-high.html

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-02-22-home-prices_N.htm