Philly Real Estate – February Pending Home Sales Decrease

RISMEDIA, April 11, 2008-The Greater Philadelphia region saw a 19.2% decrease in February real estate activity moving to an index of 70.2 from the downwardly revised January index of 86.8, according to The Prudential Fox & Roach, REALTORS® HomExpert Pending Home Sales Index©. The February index indicates the market is 41.7% lower than February 2007.

Compared to findings reported by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index, real estate activity in the Greater Philadelphia region fell below the Northeast and National indices. The NAR index showed a 3.2% growth in pending sales in the Northeast and a 1.9% decrease nationally. In January, the NAR index indicated a 4.1% decrease in pending sales in the Northeast and remained unchanged nationwide.

Based on the forward-looking indicator, real estate activity in the five-county Southeastern Pennsylvania had the largest decrease in the tri-state market showing a 20.4% decrease from a revised index of 96 in January to 76.4 in February. Main Line pending home sales fluctuated from an index of 87.8 in December to 115.7 in January, a 31.8% increase, back down to an index of 83 in February, decreasing 28.3%. Philadelphia County saw an 18% decrease in activity, with Center City falling 20.3%.

Southern New Jersey pending home sales fell 18.6%, moving from a revised index of 70.9 in January to 57.7 in February. Salem County saw the largest decrease in the Greater Philadelphia Region falling 31.6%, followed by Burlington County at 29.7%. After posting a 16.9% decrease in the January index, Mercer County remained unchanged at an index of 63.6 in February.

“The Greater Philadelphia region is in a wait and see mode for a lot of home sellers,” said Steve Storti, senior vice president of marketing for Prudential Fox & Roach. “We’re still seeing an adjustment from the impact of the mortgage crisis. At the same time, warmer weather is starting to motivate some buyers to start thinking about their next home. Low mortgage rates are also helping.”

While the February pending homes sales index for the Greater Philadelphia region decreased 19.2%, it is 41.7% below the February 2007 index, moving from an index of 120.4 in 2007 to 70.2 in 2008. The Southeastern Pennsylvania index is 39.1% below a year ago, Southern New Jersey is down 47.5% and the Delaware area fell 42% below last year’s indices.

Based on contracts signed in February, 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.

For more information, visit www.prufoxroach.com.

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