Taken from The Atlanta Business Chronicle
Buyers racing to beat the home buyer tax credit deadline pushed pending sales of existing homes in March up 5.3 percent from the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Pending sales were up 21.1 percent from a year ago.
The Pending Sales Index does not break out specific metropolitan areas. But by region, pending sales in the South were up 28.3 percent from a year earlier.
The tax credit expired April 30, and lack of that incentive may slow sales in the next few months, the Realtor’s group said.
“In the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit, we expect measurably lower sales,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Later in the second half of the year, and into 2011, home sales will likely become self-sustaining if the economy can add jobs at a respectable pace, and from a return of buyer demand as they see home values stabilizing.”