Spring market flop?
Pending home sales plunged again in April as we enter the heart of the spring sales season.
The number of homes put under agreement this April was off by more than 24 percent compared with April 2010, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
Yes, last year saw a mini-bubble as buyers rushed to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit, so that's a partial excuse, I guess.
But 24 percent is a big drop, anyway you look at it. It seems to suggest that base demand is still hovering around recession levels, even as the economy finally begins to pick up.
Of course, pending sales have been trending upwards recently on a month-over-month basis, but really, how can that be viewed as anything but a seasonal change? Especially given the record snowfall we saw this last winter.
