No Surprise Home Sale Contract Signings were Up In April

By Mark J. Donovan

So is anyone really surprised that home sale contract signings were up in April. Anyone with a pulse and was in the market for buying a home new the home purchase federal tax credit was about to expire on 5/1/10. To qualify for the federal hand out, a purchase and sales contract needed to be signed by this date.

Though some in the real estate industry are touting this positive factoid as signs of things to come in the hard hit real estate market, I'm not so sure. With the federal tax credit now expired, what's the compelling reason to go out and buy a new home. Interest rates have been at record lows for months and home sales and prices have languished at best. Until the employment picture becomes brighter I'm hard pressed to believe that this uptick in home sale contract signings is sustainable. As a matter of fact, I won't be at all surprised to see that actual home sale contract signings dropped in May and will stay flat through June.

Time will tell, but until the job market improves don't expect any explosive improvement in home sales.