According to worldpropertychannel.com, the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index increased from 97.9 in April to 103.9 in May, the largest rise since April 2010 (9.6 percent) when first-time homebuyers beat the deadline to take advantage of the popular tax credit then available, as the government was trying to kickstart the floundering housing market. However, the index remains below the rate of 109.6 from May of 2013 MHProNews has been informed.

Chief NAR Economist Lawrence Yun expects home sales to improve in the second half of the year. “Sales should exceed an annual pace of five million homes in some of the upcoming months behind favorable mortgage rates, more inventory and improved job creation,” he said. “However, second-half sales growth won’t be enough to compensate for the sluggish first quarter and will likely fall below last year’s total.” While first-time homebuyers continue to run into a tight lending atmosphere, the burgeoning stock market has fueled home sales in the higher ranges, while sales for homes under $250,000 have fallen ten percent from last year.

Compared to the 5.1 million sales last year, Yun expects existing home sales to be down 2.8 percent this year to 4.95 million. He says the national median price will rise five to six percent this year, and four to five percent in 2015. ##

(Photo credit: Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)