“The biggest factor” behind the resurgence in sales, he observed, has been “a resumed decline in mortgage interest rates, which have been much lower than most analysts expected.”
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 5.88% in December, down from 5.93% in November. Mortgage rates have declined further in January.
NAR President Walt McDonald said that, “Given the demand from a growing number of households in an improving economy, we can expect sales to remain close to record activity this year.”
December’s rate of home resales was up 2.9% in the Northeast to 720,000 units, 5.3% in the South to 2.58 million units, 7.9% in the West to 1.77 million units and 9.4% in the Midwest to 1.39 million units.
Don’t Miss NAHB’s Spring Construction Forecast Conference
See what's on the horizon for the housing industry at the semi-annual gathering of the country's premier economists and finance experts. Get the latest forecasts on housing starts, project budgets and other economic bellwethers at the Spring Construction Forecast Conference on April 21 at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. Visit the Web site for more information.
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