Pending home sales index rises again in June

...homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. said its fiscal third-quarter losses shrank from the year-ago period, as it took smaller charges against the falling values of its land and unsold homes.

D.R. Horton's results followed similar numbers from Pulte Homes Inc. and Centex Corp., which reported quarterly earnings Monday that showed new-home orders picked up during the first half of the year.

Lawrence Yun, the Realtors group's chief economist said he expects existing home sales to gradually rise over the balance of the year, with conditions varying around the country.

"It appears home sales are on a sounder footing and inventory is gradually being absorbed," he said.

Regionally, the pending home sales index jumped 7.1 percent to 100.7 in the South and 2.9 percent to 100.4 in the West. The index inched up 0.4 percent to 81.2 in the Northeast, and up 0.8 percent to 89.9 in the Midwest.

Real Estate Ad Budgets Stretched Thin across Copious Media Choices

Between the soft housing market and tight budgets, US real estate agents and brokers are facing tougher choices when they divide up their ad dollars - especially when media choices have proliferated - according to a new study of real estate ad spend trends.

Less than half - 47% - of the Realtors surveyed said they are spending more for advertising and marketing this year than they did last year, the study conducted by Classified Intelligence and RealtyTimes.com found. That proportion was 58% in the previous year’s survey. More