For yet another week, fixed-rate mortgages reached record lows, as did the 5-year adjustable rate in this survey.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, unexpectedly rose 5.2 percent to 79.4 based on contracts signed in July from a downwardly revised 75.5 in June, but remains 19.1 percent below July 2009 when it was 98.1. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.
MVHI Trend Line, Mahoning Valley Housing Report(MVHR), Median Home Price (x100)
RE/MAX Valley Real Estate in its monthly Mahoning Valley Housing Report for August, 2010 reports that post tax credit, the MVHI Median Price Index (MPS) (a 12 month moving average of the monthly median price) for a home here in the Valley saw a decline in August for the second month in a row. The decline, however, was modest, just -0.5 percent to $64,565 from $64,898 in July. The unadjusted median price of $58,000 actually increased over the unadjusted median price of $54,200 in July. Prices therefore are holding their own.