May Home Sales and Prices up from April |
SPRINGFIELD (June 23, 2009). Both the median single-family home sale price and home sales increased in May 2009 compared to the prior month, according to figures from the Capital Area Association of REALTORS® (CAAR) Multiple Information Service. According to CAAR president, Nancy Long, ABR, CRS, GRI, today first-time homebuyers make up a larger than usual percentage of our market as they are taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit and ideal homebuying conditions. “The enthusiasm demonstrated by first-time homebuyers is reflected in the 446 sale pendings for May, which are up 7.5 percent from May of 2008. However, these conditions won’t last forever as the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit will expire on December 1, 2009 and low mortgage rates are expected to start inching upward in the weeks to come. Buyers must finalize their purchase by November 30th to be eligible for the first-time homebuyer tax credit which means they need to begin to enter into purchase agreements sooner rather than later,” said Long. The inventory of homes for sale at the end of May was 1,629, reflecting an 18.3 percent decrease from the 1,994 homes for sale during the same time last year. Current inventory levels stand at 1,592 homes which is the lowest level since June of 2005. The current inventory level reflects about a 5.7 month supply at the average sales pace during the past twelve months. “After seeing monthly declines for March and April in the average cumulative days on market we did experience a bit of a reversal of that trend in May,” said Long. The time on market for May of 2009 increased to 130 days as compared to 107 during May of 2008. For the year-to-date 2009 the time on market was 122 days as compared to 114 days during this same time in 2008. “In spite of the increase in these numbers, four months plus some change is not an unreasonable period of time to sell a home,” said Long. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported that the national average commitment rate for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgages was 4.86 percent in May 2009, down from the 6.04 average rate during May of 2008. ### Access related statistical reports here.
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