The latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) indicates that existing homes sales have risen, due to a jump in sales in the Western region of the United States.

Despite this jump, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the market is underperforming and hurting the broader economy. “We’ve added 25 million people to our population over the past decade and housing affordability conditions are the best we’ve seen since 1973, but household formation is much lower than expected. Consequently, there is a pent-up demand which could be unleashed with the right stimulus, including a non-repayable home buyer tax credit. The Obama administration and Congress need to move fast to stimulate a spring sales upturn which will help to stabilize home prices and set the foundation for a sustainable economic recovery.”

Regionally, all areas except the Northeast saw substantial gains. The Northeast dropped 1.4 percent from November; the median home price is still 7.8 percent lower than a year ago. While sales may not be recovering as quickly as other areas, this price shows is the smallest drop from last year when compared to each other region. The Midwest is down 11.4 percent, the South is down 8 percent, and the West is down a staggering 31.5 percent from last year.

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Published: January 27, 2009

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