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home sales
New-Home Sales Dropped to All-Time Low in July
By not in system - AOL News(Aug. 25) -- It's a summer for the record books in the beleaguered U.S. housing sector -- and not in a good way. New home sales unexpectedly plunged 12.4% in July to a 276,000-unit annual rate -- the lowest level since the U.S. Commerce Department started keeping records for the statistic in 1963. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast new home sales would rise to a 340,000-unit annual pace in July from a revised 315,000-unit rate in June. Instead, they fell, and the June revision lowered last month's sales gain from the previously-released 23.6 rise. Revised sales rates for May and ...
No One Should Have Been Surprised by the Plunge in Home Sales
By Paul Wachter - AOL News(Aug. 25) -- Whenever there's housing news, I turn to economist Dean Baker, one of the few to foresee the housing bubble, for insight. He takes issue with this sentence from today's Washington Post story: "Analysts had expected sales to decline following the expiration of a federal tax credit for homebuyers this spring, but the drop was nearly twice as large as forecast." "Forecast by whom?" is the question. Baker says this plunge was easy to predict, just as the housing bubble was, by looking at the available data: The 27 percent drop in sales is very much in line with what would have been ...
Why Is the Housing Market Plummeting? 5 Theories
By not in system - AOL News(Aug. 24) -- Sales of existing homes dropped 27.2 percent in July, accelerating the recent decline in the already frail housing market. This brings the number of existing houses sold to an annual rate of only 3.83 million units, the lowest figure since 1999. The number of single-family home sales hit its lowest level since 1995. Some economists even fear that this signals the end of housing as an investment. How bad is this and what does it mean? The Role of Expiring Tax Credits: Dow Jones Newswires' Meena Thiruvengadam and Sarah Lynch explain, "The steep decline in sales in July reflects ...
Mortgage Rates Sink to Lowest Level on Record
By not in system - AOL NewsWASHINGTON (June 24) - Mortgages are cheaper today than they've been in a half-century. If only most people had the job security, the credit score and the cash to qualify. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan sank to 4.69 percent this week, beating the low set in December and down from 4.75 percent last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. Rates for 15-year and five-year mortgages also hit lows. Rates are at their lowest since the mortgage company began keeping records in 1971. The last time they were any cheaper was the 1950s, when most long-term home loans lasted just 20 or 25 years. ...
Home Sales Surge in March, Signaling Strong Spring Sales
By Tom Diemer - Politics DailySales of existing homes jumped 6.8 percent in March, cheering analysts and suggesting a rebound in the housing market during an anticipated spring surge in buying, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. The organization's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said a federal tax credit for first-time home-buyers has proven to be a "resounding success," as trends point to a "broad stabilization in home prices." Even the steady pace of home foreclosures is "being absorbed manageably" by the market, he said. The tax credit, ranging up to $8,000, is due to expire April 30, but Yun ...
Sales of Existing Homes Drop for Third Straight Month
By Tom Diemer - Politics DailyThe modest rebound in the housing market hit another bump in February as sales of existing homes fell for the third consecutive month. And that was bad news for the overall state of the U.S. economy, the AP reports. Sales of previously occupied homes dropped 0.6 percent, a slight dip but the lowest level since last July, according to the National Association of Realtors. The slow sales also drove down prices, as the median cost of homes slipped almost 2 percent from a year ago to $165,100. There was hope in the Midwest, where sales increased nearly 9 percent, but the Northeast and South ...
Home Sales Slump for Second Straight Month
By Christopher Weber - Politics DailySales of previously owned homes dropped in January for the second straight month, a trend the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors called "not encouraging." The realty group reported sales of existing houses, townhouses, and condos were down 7.2 percent to 5.05 million last month, according to The Washington Post. December saw a record 16.2 percent decline. Economist Lawrence Yun said Realtors are holding out hope the trend may reverse itself in spring, when more Americans are expected to take advantage of a recently renewed tax credit for first-time buyers and some current ...
Home Sales Jump to Highest Levels in Two Years
By David Sessions - Politics DailySeptember marked a sharp turnaround in the housing market, according to a report released Friday by the National Association of Realtors, CNN Money reports. Boosted by first-time home buyers, sales of previously owned homes rose 9.4 percent in September to the highest level since July 2007. An NAR chief economist said first-time buyers are responding to a special tax credit on their home purchase. The report shows sales were strongest in the western United States, which had a growth rate of 13 percent. ...
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