According to the National Association of Realtors, there has been a modest gain in pending home sales, with positive predictions coming for the second half of 2008.

This prediction comes from Dr. Lawrence Yun, the association's chief economist. He reports that it is bargain hunters who are taking advantage of the areas that have seen double-digit price declines.

But, as always, it's not all happy predictions. Money Magazine noted on June 8th that "the housing implosion is nowhere near over. In 75 of the 100 top U.S. cities, prices are expected to fall in the next 12 months." This was according to Fiserv Lending Solutions. The Magazine also reported that foreclosures during from January to March of 2008 rose a back-breaking 112 percent.

The region that has seen the biggest pick-up in sales activity has been the Midwest, whose pending sales increased 13.0 percent. The only region still above April 2007 levels is the West, however. The South is a staggering 22.5 percent below 2007 levels at this time.

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Published: June 10, 2008

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Carla Hill, M.A., works on the Realty Times staff as Managing Editor for our online publication. She also is Producer for the real estate news channel, seen daily on RealtyTimes.com and on video newsletters nationwide.