The signs are looking brighter. Sales and pending sales of homes have turned up sharply in hard-hit markets; house prices are more affordable, and consumer confidence polls show a slight improvement in the public's outlook.
Here are a few of last week's developments:
· Mortgage applications for purchases of resale and new homes were up again.
· Mortgage rates remain at near historic lows, though they may be bottoming out. Thirty-year fixed rates rose a tenth of a percent on average last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, to 4.7 percent.
· A survey of 15,000 adults by Discover Financial Services recorded a significant jump in confidence between February and March. A New York Times/CBS poll of 1,000 consumers found the same. The Times even put the results at the top its front page with the headline: "Poll finds Brightening Outlook on U.S. Economy."
· Members of the National Association of Home Builders reported that shoppers' visits to look at new houses for sale are "on the rise and consumer interest is increasing.” The association also announced that more than half of all U.S. households -- 55 million of them -- can now afford to buy the median priced $200,000 new home.
Realty Times - Published: April 14, 2009
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