Archive for US Home Sales
U.S. new-home sales fall to record-low level -Jan 10
Sales of new U.S. homes plunged 11.2% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000, the lowest rate on record dating back to 1963, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. Even more houses for sale coming soon as the homes now in default become Bank Owned, Short sales are not completed in time, Loan Modifications that don’t work.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch forecast sales to rise slightly to 355,000, with buyers taking advantage of a new federal tax credit. Sales in December were revised higher to 348,000 from 342,000 previously reported. Sales are down 6.1% compared with January 2009’s 329,000, which was the previous record-low rate.
The number of homes for sale rose 0.4% to 234,000 in January. At the January sales pace, it would take 9.1 months to sell that inventory
Housing starts slip 4% in December
Capping the worst year for housing since the end of World War II, U.S. housing starts fell 4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000 in December from 580,000 in November, the Commerce Department estimated.
Existing home sales plummet 16.7% in Dece
Sales of U.S. existing homes plunged 16.7% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million from 6.54 million in November as a popular tax credit was set to expire, a national real estate trade group estimated Monday.
The 16.7% percentage decline from November to December was the largest on record, the National Association of Realtors reported.
Distressed Sales Amount to Over 30% of the Market
Approximately 38% of existing home sales in 2009 were distressed sales and 12% were short sales, according to the National Association of Realtors
So much for RE recovery in 2010 !
We estimate that roughly 3.2m foreclosures must be prevented in 2010 for home prices to stabilize or potentially tick up,” researchers said. “This is an uphill challenge, but a combination of current government programs and their future iterations offer a narrow path for success.”
This projection comes as Deutsche Bank researchers say these predictions will likely become a reality, with the total peak-to-trough decline of US home prices hitting nearly 40%. In the current outlook, they say home prices will drop a further 10 to 12% from current levels
House Flipping Makes a Comeback
Four years after the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble, flipping homes is back in fashion.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126022588878780861.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories
Government Action Boosted Home Prices by Five Percent: Goldman Report
Despite the objections from conservatives and industry advocates, the Obama administration’s steps to intervene in the housing market have had a positive effect on home prices, buttressing values by five percent, according to a new report by Goldman Sachs
U.S. home prices for August off 11.3% from year ago
Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor’s:
In August prices rose in 17 of 20 cities. In the past year, prices are down 11.3% in the 20 cities. Prices are down 29.3% from the peak.
Prices in all 20 cities were lower in August 2009 than in August 2008. The figures are not seasonally adjusted.
If you missed out on housing credit, don’t fear
If you missed out on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers, which is set to expire after Nov. 30, don’t despair.
One of two things will probably happen: Congress will extend the credit into next year or, if not, home prices will fall as demand falls off, perhaps by as much as $8,000.
Read more:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/10/27/BUGQ1AAV4H.DTL#ixzz0V9wjyL8k
