May 4, 2009 11:31 pm US/Eastern
Have We Finally Hit Bottom Of Housing Market?
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Two reports Monday show encouraging news about the economy. The National Association of Realtors says the number of pending home sales rose 3.2 percent in March from the same time last year and construction of new homes edged slightly higher during that period as well.
The news sent the stock market soaring with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 200 points.
"It probably means that we are hitting the bottom for the housing market," said Patrick Newport, housing analyst with IHS Global Insight in Lexington.
Patrick says while the numbers suggest we may be at the bottom of the housing market decline, construction numbers are still pretty dismal and the economy is far from recovery. "The problem right now is we still have severe problems in the banking system, so even though it's a very good time to buy a home, it's very difficult to get a loan."
Svetlana Shatalova and Misha Smirnov have been looking for a home on and off for two years. They have a growing family with 5-year-old daughter Sofia and 5-month-old son Demetrie. As they toured a five bedroom colonial in Winchester, they said they believe now is finally the time to buy. "We noticed that the prices have come down a little bit and we know the interest rate is really low right now," said Smirnov.
"We have a bigger family now," said Shatalova. "So we need a bigger place."
Re-Max realtor Sven Andersen showed them the colonial that has been on the market just three weeks and already has three offers.
He says it's been a long time since he's had multiple offers on a home. "This was unheard of just a couple weeks ago."
He says business has been crazy lately, and that's just fine with him.
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