Pending home sales continue uptrend

Century 21 Birchwood Realty Rick Swift Realtor "Where your new home begins" http://www.rickswift.com/  239-357-1844
Pending home sales continue uptrend


WASHINGTON – Jan. 27, 2011 – Pending home sales improved further in December, marking the fifth gain in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator, increased 2 percent to 93.7 based on contracts signed in December from a downwardly revised 91.9 in November. The index is 4.2 percent below the 97.8 mark in December 2009. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.
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“Modest gains in the labor market and the improving economy are creating a more favorable backdrop for buyers, allowing them to take advantage of excellent housing affordability conditions,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Mortgage rates should rise only modestly in the months ahead, so we’ll continue to see a favorable environment for buyers with good credit.

A home buyer or builder can obtain financing (a loan) either to purchase or secure against the property from a financial institution, such as a bank, either directly or indirectly through intermediaries. Features of mortgage loans such as the size of the loan, maturity of the loan, interest rate, method of paying off the loan, and other characteristics can vary considerably.
In many jurisdictions, though not all (Bali, Indonesia being one exception, it is normal for home purchases to be funded by a mortgage loan. Few individuals have enough savings or liquid funds to enable them to purchase property outright. In countries where the demand for home ownership is highest, strong domestic markets have developed.
The origin of the word mortgage is from the Latin word mori (via old french mort) for death and -gage is from the sense of that word meaning a pledge to forfeit something of value if a debt is not repaid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortgage_loan