Saturday, 30 June 2012

Demand for Homes in US Rises More Than Expected in May

The demand for new homes in the United States increased more than expected in May, and mortgage rates have dropped, helping boost the residential property market. This is just as well as other parts of the economy are cooling. Purchases for May reached an annual rate of 369,000, which is the highest since April 2010 and is 7.6% more than the previous month.

The number of houses on the market is steadily reducing. It's likely that the reduced cost of borrowing will help boost buyers' confidence. The Federal Reserve recently extended a program designed to keep long-term interest rates low with the aim of reducing unemployment and preventing a global slowdown from stalling the property market.

The median sales price has increased by 5.6% compared to the same month last year to reach $234,500, and prices have increased since February which is the best performance in five years. Purchases rose by 37% in the North East, and by 13% in the South, but demand dropped by 3.5% in the West, and by 11% in the Midwest.

Last month there were 145,000 newly constructed houses on the market, up slightly from the record low of 144,000 recorded for March and April. The supply of new homes on the market dropped to 4.7 months, which is the lowest since October 2005. Due to growing demand builders broke ground on 516,000 single-family homes in May, up 3.2% from April. Although economists are optimistic about the latest news, they still caution that there is a long way to go before the market returns to anything sort of normality.

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