The number of pending listings has been down over the past four months as credit criteria had been historically strict before the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I believe that many of the buyers, who were eager to get into a home but not quite over the cusp of meeting qualification numbers, took immediate full advantage of the somewhat loosened criteria. This, in turn, caused a much needed sharp increase in the number of pending homes in August. On the website realtor.org stated that according the Pending Homes Sales Index in August pending contracts jumped 7.4 percent to 93.4 from an upwardly revised reading of 87 in July and is 8.8 percent higher than August 2007 when it was 85.8. In fact, the index has reached its highest level since June of 2007 when it was 101.4.
The increase in pending homes and hopes for results from the Rescue Bill have caused many experts to also predict something that we haven’t seen nationally in a while. . .an increase in home prices! After national declines of 5-8% this year, 2009 is predicted to have 2-3% increases over the next year. Also, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates are predicted to steady and then increase to around 6.6% by the fourth quarter of 2009. Just a few more reasons to get out there and buy that house you’ve been eyeing now rather than later!
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