After 3 consecutive months of growth, the housing market appears to have eased a bit in December but the real estate market in Burlington, Vermont and Greater Chittenden County area is off to a strong start in 2012.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, December’s Pending Home Sales Index slipped 4 percent from the month prior. The index measures the number of homes under contract to sell nationwide, but not yet sold.
Despite falling below its benchmark “100 value”, December’s Pending Home Sales Index is the reading’s second-highest value since April 2010 — the last month of last year’s home buyer tax credit program.
In other words, the housing market continues to show signs of improvement, propelled by low home prices and the cheapest mortgage rates of all-time.
Freddie Mac’s mortgage rate survey put the 30-year fixed rate mortgage at an average of 3.96% in December . With low rates many Buyers are coming back into the housing market because rental rates are higher than mortgage costs.
But even regional data is only so helpful. Like everything in real estate, data must be local to be relevant.
For today’s home buyers and sellers, therefore, it’s important to understand your local market and the drivers of local activity. Reports like the Pending Home Sales Index can paint a broad picture U.S. housing but for data that matters to you, you’ll want to look local.
For local real estate data, talk to an experienced real estate professional.
| posted by Bill Desautels
P: (802) 655-9100 (800) 639-4520 x217 F: (802) 655-0400 E: bill@movevermont.com The Desautels Group – Vermont real estate Bill Desautels has been providing advice to buyers |
Filed under: Housing Analysis Tagged: | bill desautels, desautels group, NAR, Pending Home Sales Index, PHSI, the desautels group, vermont homes, vermont real estate
