Guidant Financial Group Blog

Maybe it was all the badmouthing of the real estate industry that finally got a rise out of the housing market! (Sorry, that was a really bad joke.) But, whatever the reason, the pending home sales index has finally risen!

According to the National Association of Realtors seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes, existing home sales rose to 88.2 in April from a March reading of 83.0, the lowest reading since the index’s inception in 2001 (see Pending Home Sales Higher in April).

Although this is far from the April 2007 index of 101.5, this unexpected increase could mean that the housing market is slowly recovering.

Global Insight economist Patrick Newport, however, warns that the rise may be misleading.

''It's good news, but I'm not jumping for joy because I'm not convinced that it's telling us things are picking up,'' he told the Associated Press. ''It's telling me that banks are dumping properties at fire sale prices, spurring home sales.''

Either way, if home sales are increasing, it means that real estate investments may start to see a turnaround earlier than originally thought. And if not, at least self-directed IRA investors can still pick up those properties being dumped by banks at “fire sale prices”!