Mixed messages from the media has Tampa houses for sale on the rise in August 2009
When it comes to Tampa homes for sale, the media is always sending mixed messages and it’s hard to know what to believe – are sales of homes on the upswing? Or are they at a impasse in which no homes, new or existing, are being purchased at this time due to the weakened economy?
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) based out of Chicago recently released a statement regarding the state of existing home sales; the report confirms that existing home sales slipped slightly in August from July’s rate; however remained at a level that is 3.4 percent higher than this time a year ago. The report went on to say that sales of existing homes in August 2009 were running at 5.1 million units, compared with 4.93 million units in August 2008.
Helped by a first-time homebuyer’s tax credit, Tampa homes for sale is running ahead of this time last year. This means the inventory of existing homes on the market is 16.4 percent less than one year ago according to the NAR. The total housing inventory fell 10.8 percent to 3.62 million at the end of August.
The NAR reported that the Midwest saw the steepest decline in existing home sales for August 2009. This region saw sales fall by 6.6 percent to a level of 1.14 million units from July. The South saw existing home sales drop by 3.1 percent from the July 2009 pace although the regions existing homes for sale are 1.6 percent higher than in August 2008. In the West, existing home sales dropped by 2.7 percent in August 2009 to an annual rate of 1.16 million, however the pace was still 7.4 percent ahead of a year ago the same time. And finally in the Northeast, in the August 2009 report, they saw the pace of existing home sales drop by 2.2 percent from the month before. The annual sales of existing units in August were 910,000 which were 5.8 percent ahead of the August 2008 report.