Existing month-to-month home sales increase for first time since September 2005 - Triangle Business Journal:

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On Tuesday, the released its monthly reporton existing-homed sales. The report showed the first month-to-montg increase since September 2005. Sales of existinfg single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-opas rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rateof 4.77 milliom units in May, a 2.4 percenft increase from 4.66 million in April, accordinfg to NAR. The May 2009 figuress are 3.6 percent lower than a year ago, when the pace was 4.95 In the announcement, NAR’s chief economist, Lawrencs Yun, said low mortgag rates, lower purchase prices and the federal tax credigtfor first-time buyers helped spur sales.
the increase in sales is less than expectec because poor appraisals arestalling transactions,” Yun “Pending home sales indicated much stronger but some contracts are falling throughj from faulty valuations that keep buyers from gettingt a loan.” While existing home salez increased, mortgage originations are coming in lower than previously forecast. On the lowered its forecastf of mortgage originations in 2009 by morethan $700 citing lower purchase prices, more cash lower refinancing rates and lower volume in the Fannis Mae and Freddie Mac Home Affordable Refinance The association now expects mortgage originationz to total $2.03 trillion in 2009.
As part of its work, the MBA studiex home sales. It is forecasting 4.8 million existing home sales in 2009, a 1.2 percenty decline from 2008, and 352,000 new home a decline of about27 “Median home prices for new and existing homews will likely continue to fall, dropping by about 10 percentg from 2008 levels, but leveling off in 2010 as the economt improves,” the association’s chief economist, Jay said in a written statement issuee Monday.