Columbia SC new home sales

Signs of a strengthening housing market continue to surface, with single family new home sales reaching their highest level in nearly five years during May.

The Commerce Department reports that sales increased 2.1 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 476,000 units — the highest level since July 2008.

Third Straight Month for New Home Sales Gains

May also marks the third straight month of gains in new home sales.

New Home Sales Up Again in May“Builders are reporting increased demand for new homes as buyers seek to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates while they remain so favorable,” said Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  “Consumers in markets nationwide are definitely becoming more confident about making a home purchase as firming prices and tighter inventories provide further evidence of the ongoing housing recovery.”

The big uncertainty, however, pertains to how increasing interest rates will affect the recovery. Housing analysts expect a slowdown in home price gains — and possibly a loosening of tight inventories.

Even above 4 percent, mortgage rates remain historically low — even though chances are slim to none that the 30-year fixed rate will again see its all-time low of 3.31 percent.

Three out of four regions posted sales gains in May, with double-digit increases of 20.7 percent and 40.7 percent in the Northeast and Midwest, respectively, and a more moderate 3.6 percent gain in the West. The South posted a 9.0 percent decrease following an unsustainably large gain in the previous month.

The inventory of new homes for sale edged up slightly to 161,000 units in May, which is a 4.1-month supply at the current sales pace.

“The latest report confirms that the improvement we have been seeing in housing markets over the past year continues to take place at a gradual and steady pace,” said NAHB Senior Economist Robert Denk. “We expect to see more of this positive momentum in the coming months, tempered by the caution that builders are exercising to avoid getting ahead of demand along with ongoing constraints they face with regard to the availability of credit, materials, lots and labor.”

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

A strong recovery appears to be starting for Columbia SC housing, according to a report released recently by Goldman Sachs Group.

Housing Sees Strong Recovery StartingTheir report notes that Columbia SC housing has a “long list of positives,” including rising prices, job growth, supportive government policies and a decline in the so-called shadow inventory of homes.

Sachs reported, “The super cyclical housing market has turned and a strong recovery in new-home sales is ahead.” One Sachs analyst wrote, “Over the last year a number of risks to the housing market have abated, giving us confidence that rising home prices will drive a 3-7 year up-cycle in the U.S. market.”

The report went on to note, “the U.S. economy has created enough jobs since the end of the recession in 2009 to fuel new-home sales at an annual rate of 550,000 to 600,000. New houses sold at a pace of 369,000 in May, the highest rate since 2010, according to a Commerce Department report.

Government policies have improved in the past year by addressing supply instead of demand. Recent programs include the bulk sale of foreclosed single-family homes to investors who are converting them to rentals, and the expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), which allows refinancing of properties worth less than their mortgages.

The Goldman Sachs report estimated new-home sales would reach 700,000 nationwide in 2014.

As for Columbia SC housing, we believe we have already seen the bottom, and the market is definitely showing signs of recovery.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.