Existing home sales data for February is in, and the word is that existing home sales rose. This is exciting data for the real estate industry, as it indicates that things may be picking up again, and that the real estate and mortgage markets may be on the way to recovery. The New York Times reports on existing home sales in February:

Existing-home sales advanced to a seasonally adjusted 5.03 million annual rate, up from 4.89 million in January, the trade group said. Sales at condominiums and other multi-family developments increased 3.7 percent after declining 8.2 percent in January.

However, one of the main reasons for this increase is probably due to falling home prices. The BBC reports that the median home price in the US has fallen 8.2 percent since last year:

“It’s clearly a positive indication,” said Pierre Ellis, senior economist at Decision Economics in New York.

“It does seem as if we can tentatively call a bottom in existing home sales. There is price weakness, but that was a given.”

But this could mean good things for the mortgage market. Falling home prices may allow more people to buy homes. Couple that with the fact that mortgage interest rates are finally coming down, and this could mark the beginning of a bit of a recovery. Or at least serve as an indicator that the real estate market is stabilizing.

However, many would-be home buyers are running into some problems. Despite some loosening offered by several moves made by the Federal Reserve last week, some home mortgage lenders still have tight credit requirements. Additionally, minimum amounts for down payments are on the rise. If you want to take advantage of the lower home prices and the lower interest rates, you need to make sure your credit score is good, and that you have saved some money up for a down payment.

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lower home prices, mortgage interest rates, existing home sales

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