October Surprise: Home Sales Jump 10.4 Percent

• December 2nd 2010

by UrbanTurf Staff

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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced earlier today that home sales unexpectedly rose 10.4 percent in October. The Wall Street Journal reported that economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected sales would actually drop 1.5 percent.

The Midwest saw the largest increase with pending sales up just over 27 percent between September and October. The DC area is included in the South region where sales rose 7.1 percent. Recall that pending sales represent signed contracts, not closed sales, but it is a leading indicator of the direction actual home sales will go in the coming months.

As has been the case in recent months, the continued increase of sales is largely contingent on two things: the national economy and job market. From NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun:

“It is welcoming to see a solid double-digit percentage gain, but activity needs to improve further to reach healthy, sustainable levels. The housing market clearly is in a recovery phase and will be uneven at times, but the improving job market and consequential boost to household formation will help the recovery process going into 2011.”

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/october_surprise_home_sales_jump_10.4_percent/2727.