NAR Economist Sees Higher Home Sales Ahead

Washington, DC, Aug. 25, 2010--Despite the gloomy existing home sales figures for July, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors remains relatively optimistic about sales for the rest of this year.

Economist Lawrence Yun said sales are poised to move higher after September, given historically low interest rates and high affordability. In addition, few new homes are being built.

“Given the rock-bottom mortgage interest rates and historically high housing affordability conditions, the pace of a sales recovery could pick up quickly, provided the economy consistently adds jobs,” he wrote, predicting that annual sales will reach 5 million this year, just above the average yearly sales of 4.9 million over the last 20 years.

Yun told the Wall Street Journal that he thinks home prices will be about the same in a year as they are today.