Published on : Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:57
By : Agencies
WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) – Pending home sales showed unexpected stability in September despite widespread reports that buyers were finding mortgages harder to get or postponing purchases because of potential further price declines.
The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose 0.2 pct to 85.7 in September from the revised 85.5 reading for August. Economists were expecting a decline in the neighbourhood of 2.5 pct.
The report was ‘better than a sharp stick in the eye,’ said real estate analyst Mike Larson at Weiss Research. ‘It seems the Federal Reserve’s surprise interest rate cut may have helped bring a few buyers out of the woodwork.’
The September index was still 20.4 pct below its level a year earlier. ‘Even with relatively low fourth-quarter sales,’ said the NAR’s senior economist Lawrence Yun, ‘2007 will be the fifth highest year on record for existing home sales.’ He said the median price in 2007 will be down less than 2 pct from its 2006 peak.
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