Fewer Americans bought homes in the United States in November than at any point in the past six months, new figures show.
According to the latest data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sales of existing homes fell 6.1 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million. The Realtors are now estimating that 4.94 million existing homes will be sold this year, down 3 per cent from 5.09 million in 2013.
However, while the number of Americans buying homes is slowing, property prices are continuing to rise. The NAR figures show that the median price of a US home rose by 5 per cent in the year to November to US$205,300.
The rising prices are given by the NAR as one of the main reasons for the slowdown in house sales, with many Americans, particularly first-time buyers, being priced out of the market.
To make sure you’re not priced out of the market when the time comes to buy a home in the country, make sure you get your currency exchange options sorted out at an early stage during your emigration process.
When exchanging large lump sums, even only slight fluctuations in the currency exchange markets can have a huge impact on the money you’ll have available to start your new life – and therefore buy a property with. Therefore, wiser emigrants plan the exchange well in advance by engaging the services of a specialist foreign exchange firm like Halo Financial.
For example, imagine you sold your UK property earlier this year and decided to exchange, say, £150,000 for US Dollars. If you had carried out this exchange yesterday then you would have received just US$235,550. However, had you been organised and decided to exchange back late September – when the rate was at a three-month high – then you would have received a far more wallet friendly US$245,700 – a potential gain of more than US$10,000.
Foreign exchange companies, such as Halo Financial, understand why the exchange rates are moving and just what impact this has on your currency transaction. What’s more, they can also explain how to make your money go further and give you a range options on exactly when you wish to exchange, and how much you should exchange at a time.
To find out how you can make sure you can get the best exchange rate possible, take advantage of positive fluctuations in the markets and make sure you start your new life with the most purchasing power possible, visit www.halofinancial.com
Article published 23rd December 2014