June home sales report suggest sector may be rebounding

During the last several months investors with cash on hand could find great deals on houses as inventories reached historical highs, but a new government report suggests this window of opportunity may soon be closing.

The report released on Monday by the Commerce Department showed an 11 percent spike in new single-family home sales last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000.

That was higher than what most forecasters anticipated, predicting the figure to be around 350,000.

"The improvement in sales is another heartening sign that housing is stabilizing," said Celia Chen from Moody’s Economy.com, quoted by Agence France Presse.

And although some other analysts have warned against premature celebration, many are in agreement that the times when buyers were able to obtain extra perks such as high-end appliances or swimming pools may soon be over.

"People are going to find builders are not going to be quick to make concessions," said Bernard Markstein, a senior vice president and economist with the National Association of Home Builders, quoted by CNNMoney.com.

"The time for getting deals is going away," he added.

Analysts’ focus is now shifting towards next month’s new construction figures which will confirm whether or not the housing market is in fact rebounding and contributing to bring the economy out of the recession.