Speculation that the extended First Time Home Buyers Tax credit is helping provide a push in home sales has been backed up by numbers from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose 8.2% to rose 8.2% to 97.6 from a downwardly revised 90.2 in January, and remains 17.3% above February 2009 when it was 83.2. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.
What this means in lay-mans terms is this: home sales are increasing, which is helping prices at least stabilize, if not rise in certain areas of the country. The Phoenix area market for example, is seeing multiple offers being submitted at or 10 to 20% higher than list price. This is helping to stabilize the market, as inventory is slowly decreasing and current homeowners look to sell their current homes and take advantage of the $6500 “Move Up” tax credit”
