Looking Good for 2012...Home Sales are Up!

According to the National Association of Realtors, the latest numbers for pending sales indicate for the second month in a row that the index is up.  The index is used to provide general insight to where the housing market is heading. Because new home sales reflect ‘big ticket’ items that require construction and investment, the housing market is often considered an indicator of the direction of the economy as a whole. Growth in the housing market usually means subsequent spending, generating demand for goods and services and the employees who provide them.

The good news is that the index has broken 100.  The only other time this has happened since the housing boom collapsed was during the homeowner tax credit incentive.  Knowing that the index has returned to that level a year since the credit has been in effect means the housing market is strengthening completely on its own, without any stimulus.

Not only are home sales up, but so are housing starts and home pricing are stabilizing in many markets, even increasing in some.  We still have a ways to go in terms of a recovery, but it looks like we may be heading in the right direction.