Pending Home Sales up 9.5% Year over Year in January

[Jordan]

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/20...-5-in-january/

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday its seasonally adjusted index for pending sales of existing rose 4.5% in January from December to a reading of 105.9. The index was up 9.5% from a year earlier and was at the highest level since federal tax credits fueled a temporary boom in home sales nearly two years ago.

“The data add to the evidence that housing is firmly in recovery mode,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist with High Frequency Economics.

All this despite supply shortages. Obamanomics, baby.

[cbc58]

pure crap.

[sailingaway]

That is because they passed laws to forbid forclosures, essentially, in CA, and Obama as part of the tax package extended for ONE YEAR that people who are underwater who sell a house will not recognize taxable gains on their release from the mortgage.

Contrived, and not a sign of 'recovery' imho, but it may help specific individuals in the short term.

[oyarde]

Durable goods orders are down , not a good sign for those who will be making the house payment.

[cbc58]

2% inflation, 7% unemployment.... sure i just paid $3.94 for gas... everything is rosy... i have a bridge for sale...

[Jordan]

So many excuses in this thread. Data doesn't lie.

There's more great news hidden inside for those who read the article.

Last month, new-home sales posted the biggest monthly jump in nearly two decades. They grew 15.6% in January to the highest level since July 2008, the Commerce Department said earlier in the week.

Housing is recovering. If you don't believe it, you're really just being delusional.

[The Gold Standard]

The economy is booming after all.

[cbc58]

Data doesn't lie.

Oh really?

[Seraphim]

What of the data makers?

Just a thought.

So many excuses in this thread. Data doesn't lie.

There's more great news hidden inside for those who read the article.



Housing is recovering. If you don't believe it, you're really just being delusional.

[Seraphim]

By the way I am in agreement that "housing" is recovering...what is NOT recovering is the base of home owners...the middle class.

It's giant investors now reeping the benefits of this.

[FSP-Rebel]

By the way I am in agreement that "housing" is recovering...what is NOT recovering is the base of home owners...the middle class.

It's giant investors now reeping the benefits of this.

qft

[KingNothing]

So many excuses in this thread. Data doesn't lie.

There's more great news hidden inside for those who read the article.



Housing is recovering. If you don't believe it, you're really just being delusional.

I generally agree with this assessment. For whatever reason, the numbers are up. You can't deny that.

Now, that doesn't mean the economy is rosy. It just means that things are better or at least, not getting worse.

[The Gold Standard]

It doesn't mean anything except more houses are being sold. It doesn't say anything about who is buying them, where they are getting the money/credit to do it, or how well everyone that isn't buying them is doing.

[oyarde]

I generally agree with this assessment. For whatever reason, the numbers are up. You can't deny that.

Now, that doesn't mean the economy is rosy. It just means that things are better or at least, not getting worse.

That all could be about to change ....

[bolil]

That all could be about to change ....

Numbers can be contrived. That is all.

Hey, Gas prices are less than they could be too... rejoice.

[oyarde]

Numbers can be contrived. That is all.

Hey, Gas prices are less than they could be too... rejoice.

But only 100 % more than five years ago and and 400 percent more than another time period , problem is , most do not have wages 100 % more.

[angelatc]

So many excuses in this thread. Data doesn't lie.

There's more great news hidden inside for those who read the article.



Housing is recovering. If you don't believe it, you're really just being delusional.

You forgot to mention housing starts.

[ItsTime]

Investors are coming in and buying up property. Even in my small town we are seeing that happen. IMO it it is a good time to invest in rental properties. One property here was sitting on the market for 3 years with the starting asking price of $900,000. That recently sold for $199,000. I was going to buy it but it sold too quickly at that number.

[GunnyFreedom]

You forgot to mention housing starts.

That's because they are off 16% from last month, and that data doesn't fit his confirmation bias.

[cbc58]

Investors are coming in and buying up property. Even in my small town we are seeing that happen. IMO it it is a good time to invest in rental properties. One property here was sitting on the market for 3 years with the starting asking price of $900,000. That recently sold for $199,000. I was going to buy it but it sold too quickly at that number.

Can you provide a link to the property listing / info? Your sig says you are from NH and I am curious as to where it is and what the property is like. I own property in NH.

Also --- can someone please name me one statistic from the US govt, the FED, or the NAR that has been honest and accurate within the last 5 years... just one.

[seraphson]

So many excuses in this thread. Data doesn't lie.

There's more great news hidden inside for those who read the article.



Housing is recovering. If you don't believe it, you're really just being delusional.

The data face value wasn't lying during the booming times before the bust either. Housing was the one way ticket to easy street. But then it changed. Fast. The principles were flawed but the numbers were literally too good to be true. This "obamanomics" you speak of is nothing but an old trick: Keynesianism. The problem with the Keynesian pump is that with each revolution the grease goes thinner and burns up. With our nation clearly having ZERO intention of paying for what it borrows (greasing the pump) what's to come should be clear. The point is nothing is different this time around with the exception that starting positions and conditions are even worse.

[AngryCanadian]

So many excuses in this thread. Data doesn't lie.

There's more great news hidden inside for those who read the article.



Housing is recovering. If you don't believe it, you're really just being delusional.

With the food prices increasing globally and everyday items i am sure it is good news.

[jclay2]

So many excuses in this thread. Data doesn't lie.

There's more great news hidden inside for those who read the article.



Housing is recovering. If you don't believe it, you're really just being delusional.

You really should reconsider your statement: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/previe...nward-revision

Mind you, that was 3 years after the fact!

[cbc58]

For Jordan: old Portuguese saying: "alabate pollo mañana te guisan"

[Zippyjuan]

Consumer Spending Up
http://www.latimes.com/business/mone...,6454574.story

WASHINGTON -- Consumers spent slightly more in January than the previous month even as their income plummeted by the largest amount in 20 years because of the "fiscal cliff," the Commerce Department said Friday.

Consumer Confidence Higher: http://www.latimes.com/business/mone...,5803904.story

By Jim Puzzanghera
March 1, 2013, 7:51 a.m.



WASHINGTON -- Consumer confidence surged in February as the improving job market offset concerns about higher taxes and looming federal spending cuts, according to a leading private barometer.

The monthly consumer sentiment index from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan rose 5.1% last month from January. The new reading of 77.6 also was up 3.1% from a year earlier.

“Consumer confidence continued to improve in February due to expected gains in employment," said Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist. "These expected job gains have partially offset concerns about higher payroll taxes and the impending reduction in federal spending."

Although the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% in January, the economy added 157,000 new jobs and figures for the last three months of 2012 were revised sharply upward. Weekly jobless claims have been trending down.

Weekly jobless claims continue to fall.
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2013...ency-economics

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of people who applied for jobless benefits dropped in the most recent weekly data, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report that signals continued labor-market gains even as the economy faces massive federal spending cuts.

Initials claims for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits dropped 22,000 to 344,000 in the week ended Feb. 23, according to the government.

“Claims continue to suggest that the recent trend in employment growth is at least being maintained; if anything, the decline in claims points to further acceleration,” wrote Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, in a research note.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected an initial-claims level of 362,000 for the most recent weekly data. See economic calendar.

Analysts warn against reading too much into individual claims reports as data can be distorted by holidays and unusual weather, among other factors. Still, other labor-market data also show growth: the economy has added an average of 200,000 nonfarm payroll jobs over the last three months.

Longer-term claims trends also point to improvement. The average of new claims over the past month, which smooths out weekly volatility, fell 6,750 to 355,000.

Life sucks. We should all leave this planet. Now.

[Zippyjuan]

It doesn't mean anything except more houses are being sold. It doesn't say anything about who is buying them, where they are getting the money/credit to do it, or how well everyone that isn't buying them is doing.

A lot of it actually is investors- obviously they are seeing good deals and a great buying time. If they thought things were going to crash, they wouldn't be jumping in.

How have housing starts been doing?

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Cal...ses/starts.htm

Highlights

•New home starts declined 8.5% in January from an upwardly revised 973,000 (from 954,000) in December to 890,000. The Briefing.com consensus expected new home starts to decline to 914,000.

Key Factors

•The drop in starts is more likely due to volatility than a shift in construction trends. The number of homes currently under construction, which factors into GDP, remained on a solid positive track, increasing 1.5% to 557,000. That was the 17th consecutive monthly increase and is 34.9% above the August 2011 trough.
•Single-family construction increased 0.8% to 613,000 in January from 608,000 in December. That was the most single-family homes started since 615,000 single-family homes were started in July 2008.
•Multi-family starts fell from 365,000 in December to 277,000 in January.
•The concern going forward is whether home builders continue to price new homes at a substantial premium to a comparable existing home. The premium is double what it was prior to the housing boom, raising the risk that price-conscious buyers will shift toward the cheaper existing homes unless new homes become more competitive.

Big Picture

•The number of homes under construction has increased at a steady pace since August 2011 and shows no signs of abating. There is now clear evidence that the homebuilding sector is finally on a stable, upward trend.


Read more: http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Cal...#ixzz2MK0Cwwyt
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Follow us: @Briefingcom on Twitter | Briefingcom on Facebook

[brandon]

Recovering? Or temporarily propped up by $40B monthly purchases of MBS?

[tennman]

LOL, anyone who says this economy is good or strong just flat-out isn't paying attention. Housing may be up, but it could fall over and be up from what it was.

[Natural Citizen]

Anyone want to take a guess at how many millions of vacant homes these bull$#@! artists are trading back and forth? I really do try to stay out of chit chats like this one but the amount of malfeasance that is taking place with this market continues to go unnoticed when we have folks who are in these markets equally problematic in discussing the issue in terms that are not exactly true.

We've had this topic come up before. Recently actually. Nothing has changed. Nothing. If some think that it has then maybe reconsider your sources.

[oyarde]

Consumer Spending Up
http://www.latimes.com/business/mone...,6454574.story



Consumer Confidence Higher: http://www.latimes.com/business/mone...,5803904.story



Weekly jobless claims continue to fall.
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2013...ency-economics


Life sucks. We should all leave this planet. Now.

Tax refund money will dry up by end of March , there will not be much next year , up in smoke health care penalties, back to the Govt for fines for no health care.Weekly jobless claims, what , 300,000 or 15 1/2 million per year?I see nothing getting better. ?