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While sales of newly built single-family homes is on the rise, buyers are finding fewer choices as inventory sinks to a new record low, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

New-home sales rose 3.6 percent in July to 372,000-unit annual rate — matching a two-year high that was set in April. New-home sales are up 25.3 percent over year-ago levels.

“Sales of new homes in July returned to the same solid pace they set in May, which was the fastest sales rate we’d seen in more than two years,” says Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “This is further evidence that consumers are becoming more confident in local housing markets as they look to take advantage of today’s very favorable prices and interest rates.”

New-home sales have consistently inched higher since last September and are expected to continue to rise through the remainder of the year, according to NAHB.

Still, inventories remain low as builders have been leery of starting too many projects. The inventory of new-homes for sale reached a record low of 142,000 units last month.

“The fact that the inventory of new homes for sale reached an all-time low in July is a worrisome signal that ongoing, unnecessarily tight credit conditions are keeping builders from being able to replenish supplies as consumer demand improves,” says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

Broken down by region, the Northeast saw new-home sales soar 76.5 percent in July, while sales also increased in the Midwest by 7.7 percent. Meanwhile, new-home sales in the South fell 1.6 percent and dropped in the West by 0.9 percent.

The median price of a new home is $224,200, which is down 2.5 percent compared to a year ago, the Commerce Department reports.

Source: National Association of Home Builders and “Americans Bought More New Homes in July,” NBC News (Aug. 23, 2012)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/08/24/buyer-demand-grows-for-new-homes?om_rid=AACSxz&om_mid=_BQN7MVB8tqXV6r&om_ntype=RMODaily

Home sellers are more than twice as likely to get their homes sold if they use a REALTOR®, rather than trying to sell their home on their own, according to a new survey conducted by HomeGain of 400 home owners nationwide from July 31 to Aug. 10.

Seventy-three percent of the home owners surveyed said they used a REALTOR®. On the other hand, 21 percent of those surveyed said they tried to sell their home themselves.

The survey found that 66 percent of the home owners who used a REALTOR® were able to successfully sell their home compared to 30 percent of for-sale-by-owners.

What’s more, the survey found that 22 percent of the for-sale-by-owners eventually decided to use a REALTOR® to try to sell their home. More than half of those who did were then able to sell their homes too, the survey found.

“The value of a REALTOR® in a real estate transaction is made strikingly apparent in our 2012 FSBO verses REALTOR® survey of home sellers,” says Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain. “A qualified REALTOR® understands the dynamics of the market and can better assist home sellers in the pricing and preparation of their homes for sale.”

Source: HomeGain

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/08/20/survey-reveals-who-fares-better-realtorr-vs-fsbo?om_rid=AACSxz&om_mid=_BQMowCB8tjyG8j&om_ntype=RMODaily

Builder confidence in the new-home market continued to inch higher this month, reaching its highest level since February 2007, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which measures nationwide builder sentiment about current and future sale conditions and buyer traffic. This marks the fourth consecutive month that builder confidence has been on the rise.

“From the builder’s perspective, current sales conditions, sales prospects for the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers are all better than they have been in more than five years,” says Barry Rutenberg, NAHB chairman. “While there is still much room for improvement, we have come a long way from the depths of the recession and the outlook appears to be brightening.”

Still, the sector is still in a very “fragile stage” and builders continue “to express frustration regarding the inventory of distressed properties, inaccurate appraisal values, and the difficulty of accessing credit for both building and buying homes,” says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

On a regional level, builder confidence rose the most in August in the Midwest, followed by increasing confidence in the South. However, builder confidence in the sector declined slightly in the Northeast and West.

Source: National Association of Home Builders

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/08/16/builder-confidence-soars-5-year-high?om_rid=AACSxz&om_mid=_BQLUo6B8tg$0Oq&om_ntype=RMODaily