If you have been considering buying a home but want to make sure the time is right, you will find this information helpful in your decision making process. Just in the past six months, the number of new, single-family homes has increased by almost 3% from just eight months ago. In addition, when compared with the previous year’s numbers, single-family home sales were higher by almost 2%.
While this is great news for homebuyers, showing we are currently in a buyer’s market, the other good news is that long-term rates are declining while unemployment is holding its own. The result is a strong housing market, giving people the opportunity to buy their dream home at a price they can afford. Experts are also stating that home sales will continue to climb over the summer.
Total existing home sales include not just single-family homes but also town houses and condominiums, as well as coops. For the total sales, the numbers were down 5.7%, which equated to some 6 million units across the country. Many people believe some of the decline has to do with more people buying single-family homes while numbers for town houses, condominiums, and coops were the bulk of the decline.
Even so, the number of homes being purchased and the number of refinanced loans continue to climb. In fact, in January of this year, we saw an increase of 7.7% for new sales and 7.8% for refinance loans. With long-term rates being better than they have been in a long time, the housing market has a bright future. This allows couples or single adults the opportunity to buy over renting.