When pondering the expected home sales for 2012 when compared to
the past, The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is sharing
some incredibly favorable results. Looking across the country,
there is an inkling that there will be a staggering 7-10% jump in
home sales volume when compared to last year. This figure would
reach numbers that have not been seen since five years ago when the
markets were all generally thriving.
What accounts for this change? Well according to NAR, it is the
fact that there have been uneven but higher sales patterns for the
year 2012 to date. This is rather perplexing because home prices
and sales trends are proving to be quite stable which is by no
means a bad reflection on the market after the rollercoaster both
it and the economy recently endured. It of course depends on which
market you are focussing on and to what parameters you are ticking
that brings forth these results. Nonetheless, while numbers are
looking similar to those from three years ago, there is no doubt
that 2012 over 2011 has quite polarizing differences.
For February of 2012, home sales were up 8.8% compared to 2011,
and this percentage was still down 0.9% from what the most recent
January of 2012 experienced. Thus showing just how accelerated our
markets have been right out of the gate into this new year. For the
Northeast in particular, February 2012 was also slightly down from
January by just 0.6%. Despite this, an incredible number of 18.4%
shows the increase of activity from February 2012 over the same
month a year prior. This larger increase for the Northeast as
opposed to the rest of the country can greatly be attributed to the
rather mild winter we have been experiencing, hence boosting sales
activity and demand for housing, which was also discussed in a
past blog.
Overall, this is anticipated to be a fantastic year for real
estate around the country and especially in our Greater Boston
Area. The latest NAR economic forecast has a bold prediction of a
9.1% increase in existing home sales total for 2012 compared to
2011, all which would total 4.65 million. Furthermore, 2.7 million
jobs are thought to be added to the economy, such an economy that
alone should grow 2.3% this year. These undoubtedly are all
positives for the real estate market, our future, lives and the
state of the nation as a whole.
More Information:
Inman.com,
Realtor.org