[RBI Pending Home Sales Index] Baltimore Metro Area 7-2011 – Despite Most Active July in Four Years, Baltimore Home Sales Show Weakness

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Today we released the RBI Pending Home Sales Index for both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro area housing markets for RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), the research, analytics arm of MRIS, the largest MLS in the country. It is released 10 days after the close of each period, about 3 weeks before the NAR Pending Home Sale Index and 182 days before the Case Shiller Home Price Index covering the same period.

Here’s an excerpt from the just released July 2011 RBI Pending Home Sales Index [Baltimore Metro Area] report:

…. There were 2,407 signed contracts in July, the most since 2007. Market activity was 6.9% below the June total of 2,585 and 24.5% above the 1,934 total in the same month a year ago. The jump from the prior year total was due to the lull in the market in the months following the April 30, 2010 contract signing deadline for the federal homebuyer tax credit and therefore overstates the improvement in the market. The average June to July seasonal decline for the past five and ten years was 3% and 3.5%, roughly half the market decline seen this year in the same period. The likely cause of the larger than normal decline was a consumer pause during the heated Washington DC debt ceiling debate for most of month…

July 2011 RBI Pending Home Sales Index™ [Baltimore Metro Area]

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