Originally Posted by kane

Well, it seems that in everything I read and see they take home sales into consideration as one sign of economic recovery. According to Realtor.org http://www.realtor.org/press_room/ne...strong_uptrend homes sales have improved each month for the last 4 months.

In case you don't want to read it here is a good excerpt :"Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he is encouraged. ?The housing market has decisively turned for the better. A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing to higher sales,? he said.

The monthly sales gain was the largest on record for the total existing-home sales series dating back to 1999.

?Because price-to-income ratios have fallen below historical trends, there are more all-cash offers. In some recovering markets like San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Orlando, the demand for foreclosed and lower priced homes has spiked, and a lack of inventory is becoming a common complaint,? Yun said."

So it sounds to me like a lot of people are buying houses for the first time because the price is right and they are getting some good incentives. No doubt many of these homes were/are foreclosures, but I would think seeing those homes sell is a positive thing as opposed to just seeing them sitting their empty.

I'm not saying we are out of the woods just yet, we have a long way to go, but I still think the indicators are showing positives steps forward.