This week has been a great week of positive news. First, we had cyber-Monday. We saw over a billion dollars spent, in one day, online in retail. In addition to this, retail sales are up 5.8% over last year in general. A very positive sign – consumers are showing their confidence by opening their wallets. Next, we had positive data from the mortgage market; mortgage applications hit a 6-month high. This was followed by positive news from the world financial markets, and another large increase in pending home sales. Unsurprisingly, this news has led to a two-day 349 point stock market rally.
As a real estate broker, I see this as good news as well. Many of the stocks that saw gains were banking and bank-related institutions. This reflects the perception that the banking, and mortgage markets have hit bottom.
The numbers are quite positive – more mortgage applications means more potential home buyers, higher bank stocks means more money to lend, and pending home sales up 10.4% means more homes are under contract.
All things equal, this would mean an increase in the strength of the market toward a seller’s market. A seller’s market means shorter listing times, higher sale prices, and multiple offers.
While most of these numbers “unexpectedly” increased, it does follow months of moves in a positive direction. In general, this is great news about the state of our market, and our financial recovery.
