Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

I’d like to share some good news from the Prudential Fox & Roach, REALTORS® HomExpert Pending Home Sales Index.  This information was just released by Sarah Lindsay of Prudential Fox and Roach and Tierney Communications on Friday and as a Philadelphia Condominium Owner and Realtor, I am pleased to report it:

The Greater Philadelphia region* increased in real estate activity for September, after seeing a 13.5 percent decrease in August, according to The Prudential Fox & Roach, REALTORS® HomExpert Pending Home Sales Index.©  Based on the forward-looking indicator, the region showed a 2.5 percent increase in activity from the revised August index of 81.4 to 83.4 in September.

The combined five-county Southeastern Pennsylvania region saw a 5.8 percent increase, moving from an 84.6 revised August index to an 89.5 index this month. Delaware County posted the largest increase in the Greater Philadelphia region at 19.7 percent. Montgomery County grew 2.8 percent, the first growth in pending activity since the May 2007 index. Center City Philadelphia increased 7.2 percent, following a 34.1 percent decrease in last month’s report. Main Line activity showed a 12.5 percent increase in September after falling for three consecutive months.

“The index is showing a bump upward. Potential buyers continue to find lower interest rates and a large selection of homes to choose from,” said Steve Storti, senior vice president of marketing for Prudential Fox & Roach. “Although the index shows signs of the market stabilizing following the August credit and mortgage crisis, we look forward to seeing if the market can maintain that pace given the seasonally slower months ahead.”

Compared to September findings reported by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index, the Greater Philadelphia region showed a larger increase than the Northeast and National indices. The NAR index showed a 10.1 percent drop in pending sales in the Northeast and a 0.2 percent increase nationally. In August, the NAR index indicated an 8.3 percent decrease in pending sales in the Northeast and 6.5 percent decrease nationwide.

Based on contracts signed in September, the index monitors real estate market activity by tracking pending sales of homes reported to the TREND® Multiple Listing Service, the region’s primary real estate reporting tool for 32,000 real estate professionals. A sale is listed as ‘pending’ when a contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed. Sales are typically finalized within one or two months of signing. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2002. The Prudential Fox & Roach, REALTORS HomExpert Pending Home Sales Index is modeled after the national index created by the National Association of Realtors®, which is available at www.realtor.org.

The following is the September 2007 HomExpert Pending Home Sales Index for the Greater Philadelphia region:

This is great news for both Philadelphia Condominium buyers and sellers.  If you are looking for a new Center City loft or condo, or if you are ready to put yours on the up and coming market, just give me a call at               215-521-1523        or email me at Mark@CenterCity.com.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106