The hot topic around the web yesterday was that February’s increase in homebuyer activity was the result of the pending expiration of the homebuyer tax credit.

According to the National Association of Realtors, “The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in February, rose 8.2 percent to 97.6 from a downwardly revised 90.2 in January, and remains 17.3 percent above February 2009 when it was 83.2. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.”

The big question: Is February’s boost in homebuyer activity enough to spur lawmakers to extend the homebuyer tax credit again? The numbers for February’s pending home sales were only first available yesterday, April 5. That means March’s (pending home sale) numbers won’t be available until the beginning of May. By that time, all who wanted to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit would have had to have their contracts signed — all contracts must be signed by April 30 (24 days away). We will, however, see some of February’s numbers expressed in March’s existing-home sales report due out on April 22.

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According to National Mortgage News (NMN), the White House is still “mum” on whether or not lawmakers will vote to extend or expand the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

If you’re still unsure about taking advantage of the credit, the clock is ticking. All the way back in August we warned borrowers that, with the November 30 deadline fast approaching, they needed to act A.S.A.P. “The mortgage process usually takes anywhere between 45 and 60 days,” advises HSH VP Keith Gumbinger.”

Over the last two days White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has addressed reporters’ questions regarding the credit’s extension. Yesterday, Gibbs confirmed that a decision hasn’t yet been made, and, according to NMN, Gibbs had the same to say during this morning’s briefing.

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After four months of increases, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports today that Existing Home Sales were down 2.7% in August. Dawn Wotapka of the Wall Street Journal begs the question: is this merely a “blip” in a monthly statistic or a developing trend? Should this be a growing concern for the real estate industry?

Is the home-sales honeymoon over already even though the first-time homebuyer tax credit hasn’t even expired yet? Read the rest of this entry »

Pending home sales have risen once again in July, marking the sixth-straight-monthly increase — the longest streak in the index’s eight-year history:

The Pending Home Sales Index,¹ a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, increased 3.2 percent to 97.6 from a reading of 94.6 in June, and is 12.0 percent higher than July 2008 when it was 87.1.  The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it was 100.7.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported a 0.9% increase in home prices from April to May. The seasonally-adjusted increase comes after a revised 0.3% decline from the month prior, yet is the third increase of the year so far. According the FHFA’s index, home prices are still down 5.6% on a yearly basis. Home prices remain 10.7% below their peak from April 2007.

“Revisions and volatility of the monthly index make it hard to draw any conclusions, but the seasonally-adjusted HPI for the first five months of this year is up 0.3 percent, or 0.7 percent on an annualized basis,” said FHFA Director James Lockhart.

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Last week we wrote about home sales improving across California. This week, according to statistics released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the trend is spreading nationally. Existing home sales rose 5.1% in February, spurring the strongest increase since July 2003.

Despite the overall number of sales remaining “relatively soft,” the housing market is steadily showing significant signs of improvement — a trend which experts say is being driven by first-time home buyers shopping for deals and taking advantage of the government’s latest housing incentives: Read the rest of this entry »

As expected, last week’s announcement by the Federal Reserve sent mortgage rates falling, as well as provided an incentive for borrowers and homeowners to either purchase or refinance.

HSH’s Lender Showcase has seen a tremendous boost in traffic since last week. In the past four days (not including today), the mortgage lenders in the showcase have seen a tremendous increase in sales leads — 75% of which are refinance applications.

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