Good News In the Economy

• Economy grows again in 3rd quarter, best showing in 2 years signals end of recession
• Case-Shiller index, which tracks changes in the values of residences in 20 metropolitan areas in the U.S., is up 2.9% in the second quarter.
• The consumer confidence index was 54.5 in August, up from 47.4 in July
• Minneapolis had the greatest monthly increase in values; it’s up 3.2%, followed closely by San Francisco at 2.8%.

“Mini Real Estate Boom”

Great news coming out on the real estate market.

The latest figures from the National Association of Realtors show that existing home sales were strong in September, which means that conditions have improved for five of the past six months. Last month, sales were up 9.4 percent from the level recorded in August, and also 9.2 percent higher than the figures recorded in September 2008.

“We’re getting early indications of price stabilization, but we need a steady supply of qualified buyers to meaningfully bring inventories down and return us to a period of normal, steady price growth and to fully remove consumer fears, which would then revive the broader economy,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

Home buyers returning to the real estate market

U.S. home sales rise 9.4 percent in September

Sales jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.1 million in August, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

That pace was the strongest in two years and beat Wall Street forecasts. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual rate of 5.35 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

“There’s a mini-boom going on in the housing market,” said Thomas Popik, who conducts a monthly survey of real estate agents for Campbell Communications, a research firm.

Real Estate Looking Up: Predicitions for 2010

According to a survey released by the National Association for Business Economics home prices are expected to rise 2 percent next year.

More than 80 percent of economists surveyed by the NABE think the recession is over and recovery has begun. David Stevens, commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, concurred, adding that mortgage rates will rise to 5.6 percent by the end of 2010, though not enough of an increase to discourage a 12 percent increase in mortgage applications next year

Pending home sales up 7th month-Highest since March 2007

August pending home sales rise to 2 1/2 year high as

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday its index of sales agreements rose 6.4 percent from July to 103.8, beating forecasts. It was the highest since March 2007 and 12 percent above a year ago.