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
