Buying Trend Continues

Consumers are busy buying houses, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which announced this week that its Pending Home Sales Index rose 6.4 percent in August to its highest level since March 2007. The uptick in pending home sales marked the seventh consecutive monthly increase, the longest in the series of the index which began in 2001.

A forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed to purchase a home, the Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast jumped 8.2 percent from July and is 12 percent higher than August 2008.

Conditions remain ideal for purchasing a home. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed that rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are averaging less than 5 percent and nearing the all-time low set in March. In addition, first-time buyers still have a few weeks to get under contract in time to take advantage of the $8,000 buyer tax credit.