Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 10/25/2008 12:35:52 AM
News / Business

Homes Sales see biggest gains since 2003

Economists were wrong (again) - or is there just too much bad talking?

Sunny Isles Beach Broker News

Existing home sales rallied last month and rose by 5.5% to its highest gains since July 2003 the National Association of Realtors reported.

Inventory of unsold homes fell to a new low, a clear indicator that the real estate market is leveling off. Economist did not expect the rise in inventory sales and were much more pessimistic in their predictions.

For the first time since 2005 sales had surpassed the pace of previous year’s levels, interpreted by Economists and Realtors as the market slowly stabilizing.

“The increase in home sales was spurred by a rise in foreclosure and other ’distress sales’ in regions of the country hard-hit by the ongoing downturn”, said the Realtors’ chief economist, Lawrence Yun.

The trend however is a positive one, as the first step in stabilizing the market is an increase in home sales and inventory reductions.

On a different note, Miami Developer Jorge Pèrez allocated 1 billion US dollars in a joint venture with Lubert-Adler Partners, LP to buy distressed properties in Miami. Mr. Pèrez will continue to hunt for bargain buys and absorb what others walk away from. “There is no question in my mind that within some time – I don’t know if that’s two, three or four years – people are going to look back and say: ‘These units were bought for how little?’ he stated to the Wall Street Journal emphatically. “Some of these are really gimme. And we think the future of Miami is very strong”, he added.

There are other foreign investment funds eying Miami, pouring billions into the market predicting the inevitable future upside potential.

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