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According to the National Association of Realtors ® eexisting-home sales (including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-operatives)  increased 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million units in April from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million units in March.

If you are like me and want to see the report yourself feel free to go here:

http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/5c9013804e3eae35811fc11daf16ff2d/REL0904EHS.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=5c9013804e3eae35811fc11daf16ff2d

National median existing-home price: for all housing types, was $170,200 in April, which is 15.4 percent below 2008. Distressed properties, which accounted for 45 percent of all sales in April, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.

Total housing inventory: at the end of April, rose 8.8 percent to 3.97 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 10.2-month supply at the current sales pace, compared with a 9.6-month supply in March. “The gain in inventory is largely seasonal from sellers entering the spring market,” Yun says. “Even with the rise, inventory over the past few months has remained consistently lower in comparison with a year earlier.”

Single-family home sales: rose 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.18 million in April from a level of 4.08 million in March, but are 2.8 percent below the 4.30 million-unit pace in March 2008. The median existing single-family home price was $169,800 in April, which is 14.9 percent below a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales: increased 6.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 500,000 units in April from 470,000 in March, but are 9.4 percent lower than the 552,000-unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price was $173,900 in April, down 18.5 percent from April 2008.

By Region

NAR reported the following with existing-home sales across the country:

• Northeast: jumped 11.6 percent to an annual pace of 770,000 in April, but are 10.5 percent below April 2008. Median price: $237,400, which is 9.6 percent lower than a year ago.
• Midwest: slipped 2 percent in April to a level of 1.00 million and are 9.9 percent lower than a year ago. Median price: $138,800, down 11.7 percent from April 2008.
• South: increased 1.8 percent to an annual pace of 1.74 million in April but are 8.9 percent lower than April 2008. Median price: $148,000, which is 12.8 percent below a year ago.
• West: rose 3.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.17 million in April and are 19.4 percent higher than a year ago. Median price: $222,600, down 21.8 percent from April 2008.

This is good news.

Why? Existing-home sales rising in April with strong buyer activity in lower price ranges shows that this is still a time of opportunity.

A hui hou (until next time)

~ Lana Robbins

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According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), nationwide housing affordability jumped 10 percentage points during the first quarter of 2009 to its highest level since the series began 18 years ago. What are the numbers? The HOI showed that 72.5% of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter of 2009 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,000, up from 62.4% during the previous quarter and up from 53.8% during the first quarter of 2008.

This is great news for those looking to buy in the Tampa Bay area. While the median family income is below the national average, homes in the Tampa Bay area have a median price well below the national average. In the first quarter of 2009 according to the HOI out of 232 cities cited and compared with each other, the Tampa Bay area ranks a respectable #120 out of 232 that were cited and compared.

What also helps is the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit:

A tax credit of up to $8,000 is available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

If you want more information you can check out this website: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/index.html 

Or feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

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Who says that people are not buying homes?

As you can see in the graphs below there are many homes for sale. Unfortunately local and national media outlets are not down in the trenches yet somehow feel as though they “know” the heartbeat of the housing market. Despite some of their inaccurate reporting which make it seem as though no one is buying… people are still buying in the Tampa Bay area.

For the month of April 2009 2,527 homes were sold in the Tampa Bay, Florida areas of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties while 4,274 homes were under contract:

This is a significant increase compared to February when 1,954 homes were sold and 3,307 homes were placed under contract:

As you can see… people are buying which is no surprise.  Despite some biased local and national media, people have to live somewhere so they either buy… or they rent. For the last month there has been an increase though the local and national media seem to inaccurately portray the housing market as a crumbling one. As you can see… locally the numbers clearly show otherwise.

*All reports are published May 2009, based on data available at the end of April 2008.
All reports presented are based on data supplied by the Tampa Florida Association of Realtors, Mid Florida Association of Realtors, Southeast Florida Association of Realtors, Regional MLS, County Association of Realtors, Sarasota Association of Realtors, Englewood Association of Realtors, Manatee Association of Realtors, Venice Association of Realtors or their MLSs. Neither the Associations nor their MLSs guarantee or are in anyway responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Associations or their MLS COPYRIGHT© TRENDGRAPHIX, Inc