A spring thaw for housing

Could it be? A housing rebound - just in time for spring?

That would certainly be welcome, and judging by some of the news this past week things are beginning to look at least a bit more rosy in the housing sector than they have in a long time.

First, there was the story about pending home sales nationally showing signs of life in February.

Then there was news that home sales in eastern Connecticut soared almost 44 percent in February and prices spiked nearly 10 percent.

And a new survey by Fannie Mae shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans think it may be the right time to buy a house - and a majority believes home prices will be the same or even higher over the next year.

Such news is welcomed by many - namely, real estate agents, builders and the like - and a rebound in housing would certainly do wonders for our still-struggling regional and statewide economies.

But lest we get ourselves into too festive a mood, there are some caveats. Delinquencies on mortgages are still troubling and foreclosures haven't shown big declines.

In addition, the government's second round of incentives to buy new homes is still being felt and buyers also may be motivated by the concern that interest rates will soon begin to creep up.

But still, upbeat headlines about housing are nothing to scoff at. I'm in the business of headlines and deadlines, and I must admit that the near-constant drumbeat of dour housing news over the past year or more was putting me into a dismal mood.

Housing, after all, is an essential component of a vigorous, and healthy, local economy. It isn't just about real estate agents and home builders. It extends far beyond that, to mortgage companies, banks, credit unions, furniture stores, big-box retailers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, heating and air conditioning experts - and the list goes on.

When someone buys a new home, beside the proud prospect of home ownership, there's also money to be spent. That helps the local economy and often extends far beyond that local economy.

An analysis of the impact of 100 new single-family homes, provided by the Home Builders Association of Connecticut, offers some startling figures: Those new homes create more than 300 jobs, some $21.1 million in income and nearly $3 million in local government revenues.

Just look around you. Consider the number of real estate offices scattered about your town or city, the number of tradespeople who are involved in home building, or home improvement, the number of retailers (from the small carpet-and-tile shops to the big appliance depots), even the number of landscaping firms and plowing operations, many of which cater to residential jobs.

So it should be considered good news (and, despite the rumors, we in the news business are not opposed to such) when the Warren Group, the Boston-based real estate and financial-information provider, says single-family home sales across Connecticut spurted 27 percent in February compared to the year-earlier period. In addition, the Warren Group reports that median home prices climbed in February - for the third consecutive month.

In fact, the monthly analysis by the firm, which publishes the Commercial Record and Banker & Tradesman business newspapers, shows that Fairfield and New London counties sported the biggest gains in sales volume during the month. Our 43.9 percent jump in home sales was second only to Fairfield's eye-popping 53 percent gain. Granted, February 2009 was hardly a gangbuster month for real estate, but these gains are nonetheless on the positive side and seem to indicate at least some sort of a trend.

Timothy Warren, president of the firm, says single-family home sales in the state have been increasing on a year-over-year basis since last October.

Warren, like others, believes the federal tax credit - up to $8,000 for a new home - is helping to keep the market moving higher. But he and others warn that once the second round of tax credits expire at the end of April, the market could lose steam.

Warren says he does believe the Connecticut real estate market already has found its bottom, which was late last fall.

In the meantime, the market seems to be gaining some sales-and-pricing momentum and some signs of upward traction and those are good signs, indeed.

Anthony Cronin is The Day's business editor.