National Home Builders Celebrate Rise in New Housing Sales
New housing sales rose in the U.S. for September by 6.6% when compared with August 2010. The report from the U.S. Commerce Department has been welcomed by national home builders who have suffered through five consecutive months of the poorest sales on record since 1963 when the National Association of Home Builders started keeping track of sales figures.
However, some housing market analysts have stated that the nationwide housing sales figures for September only seemed an improvement because previous months' totals have been really low. They further added that overall sales totals will remain low so long as consumers remain wary of the threat of unemployment.
Locally, sales of homes in Frederick County, Maryland for September declined to 195 from 208 in August based on data released by the Maryland Association of Realtors. Local realtors have reported that most home buyers are afraid to make any purchase because of stories they have heard from others about finding it difficult to sale their properties due to declining values and unsteady job markets.
National home builders and realtors all over the country are reportedly frustrated by the pervading fear among potential home buyers. They reported that, despite the low mortgage loan rates on offer and the huge supplies of affordable dwellings, buyers are still staying away from the home selling market.
However, small portions of regions near Maryland are reporting stronger home selling markets, including Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia. This news has been welcomed by Frederick County realtors, with most of them expecting the good fortune of these areas to trickle down to the county and precipitate a recovery within the coming six months.
With overall housing sales climbing, confidence among builders is also improving, according to market observers. The Housing Market Index of the National Association of Home Builders has shown improvement along with sales numbers. The index is pegged at 16 for September which equals the June 2010 index.
Most national home builders are optimistic that the rise in home sales will continue slowly through the rest of 2010. They did however, cited difficulties in acquiring credit as one of the factors that can hinder the market from mounting a serious recovery.
