With Thanksgiving approaching, the height of holiday shopping season is about to begin. And a surprising number of folks are expecting a very big-ticket item under their tree: the deed to a new home.
October saw contracts to buy and sell existing homes up 2% from September and more than 5% from the year before, according to data released Wednesday.
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The National Association of Realtors monthly Pending Home Sales Index reached its highest level since March, with rises in every region of the country. The fastest growth was in the Northeast and Midwest – rising 4.7% and 4% respectively after accounting for seasonal fluctuations – with sales elsewhere more stagnant.
"Now you have some home buyers that are just realizing that we're probably not going to have 3% 30-year mortgages again any time in the near future again. At least we hope not because that would suggest really bad things in the economy overall," said Professor Terry Clower of the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis.
It's part of a spate of positive economic news going into the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
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The Commerce Department released data showing the economy grew 2.8% from July to September and that consumer spending rose 0.4% in October.
Also Wednesday, the Labor Department reported a third straight week of decline in new claims for unemployment insurance.
"In most every measure of the economy we're doing OK. We may not be doing spectacularly but we're doing ok," Clower said.