Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

ABOUT six months ago, I had advise homebuyers to start their engines and start to look for opportunities. Now, if you have minimal down payment to buy a house, you will run into a block wall or run into multiple offers with much larger down payment.

From the Associated Press:

The number of US homebuyers who agreed to purchase a previously occupied home in April posted the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years, a sign that sales are finally coming to life after a long and painful slump.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in April surged 6.7 percent to 90.3, far exceeding analysts’ forecasts. It was the biggest monthly jump since October 2001, when pending sales rose 9.2 percent.

Economists were encouraged by the report, and stock indexes advanced modestly.

"This is yet another positive indication that the bottoming process is forming," Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients. "Now if only prices would stabilize."

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the index would edge up to 85 from a reading of 84.6 in March. Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer for future existing home sales.

In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added about 20 points to 8,741, and at times traded above 8,776.39, its finish for 2008.

Still, some economists wonder whether rising mortgage rates will dampen home sales. Nationwide average rates for 30-year-fixed rate mortgages are around 5.3 percent this week compared with about 5 percent a week earlier.