{ New Home Sales Are At Their Highest Since 2008! }

More Americans went shopping for homes in August.

New home sales for single families totaled 552,000 homes in August. That’s the best monthly figure since February 2008 and an encouraging sign of the housing market’s momentum!

That was also a nearly 6% increase from July. These figures although promising are a far cry from the historic average of 706,000 homes per month over the last 30 years.

“Today’s figure is encouraging but we’ve got a LONG way to go,” Peter Boockvar, chief market strategist at the Lindsey Group, wrote in a note to clients.

Some economists believe there could be an increase in home buying as prospective homeowners try to lock in a low mortgage rate before the Federal Reserve raises interest rates!

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage in August was 3.9%, very low on a historical basis. A decade ago the rate was about 5.8% and 20 years ago it was 7.8%. When the Fed raises rates, the expectation is that rates on mortgages will gradually move up too. The central bank is now expected to raise rates in either October or December.

So buy homes everyone before interest rates go up!

Where would you buy a new home?

Credit to cnn.com