“With all the turbulence and losses in stocks and bad economic news in the headlines lately, you can easily lose perspective on what's really going on in the real estate sector.
* Well, remember that there is a huge pent-up demand simmering away out there for housing – especially from first-time buyers who want to scoop up low-priced deals.
* Fixed 30 year rates fell from 6.5% to 6.24% during the week. Fifteen year rates broke below 6% to 5.9%, down from 6.14%.
* Pending home sales were higher than year-earlier levels for the second straight month – 1.6% higher than September 2007.
* Although pending sales contracts were down slightly for the month, in the Western states they were up by 3.7%, and now stand at an extraordinary 39.7% higher than they were at the same time in 2007.
* Already sales are up significantly in major markets in many parts of the U.S. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun specifically mentioned the west coast of Florida, the Phoenix area, Virginia, Long Island, N.Y., Kansas City, Minnesota and Idaho.
So here's the key point to keep in mind as you try to make sense of the headlines: The stock market is NOT the housing market. It's on a whole different set of tracks. And it's been in a highly volatile state for more than a month. Housing, on the other hand, has already endured its painful correction for two and a half years … is now pretty much stabilized … and is slowly moving toward its cyclical recovery.”
-- “Real Estate Outlook: Housing in Recovery,” by Kenneth R. Harney, Realty Times, Nov. 18, 2008.
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