Market Forecast

Two recent reports measuring how consumers feel about the market are showing impressive increases.  The Consumer Confidence Index and the Consumer Sentiment Report, are both up - to 109 and 136, respectively, reflecting that consumer confidence is at an eight-month high, and consumer sentiment is at its highest reading since before Hurricane Katrina.

In addition, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that sales of existing homes increased in November, after a moderate rise the month before, which marked the first back-to-back increases in the sales since the spring of 2005.

In recent months there has been a pickup in mortgage applications, and a rise in new home sales has improved sentiment among home builders.  Taken together, this is convincing evidence that the market is stabilizing.  Remember:  the better consumers feel about the idea of buying a house, the more likely some of them will actually take action!

Weichert News – 1/8/07