Interest Rate Roundup

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Existing home sales slump in September

We just got a look at September existing home sales figures. Total sales fell 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million from 5.06 million in August. That was right in line with the estimates of economists polled by Bloomberg. Single-family sales dropped 3.6%, while condo sales rose 1.8%.

The "months supply at current sales pace" indicator of inventory inched up to 8.5 from 8.4, while the raw number of homes for sale dipped 2% to 3.48 million. Meanwhile, the median price of an existing home fell sharply to $165,400 from $171,200 a month earlier. That was down 3.5% from a year ago.

September was another lackluster month for the housing sector, with used home sales falling slightly and home prices slipping a bit. Tighter lending standards and ongoing weakness in the labor market are combining to cap demand, while an ongoing influx of foreclosed properties is keeping the supply of homes for sale from declining sharply. The result is continued pressure on home pricing, and a stagnant buying climate.

1 Comments:

  • I see no end to the debt crisis in europe' jim rogers has commented recently that the only real solution to this problem and the problem of that national debt of the united states is for these countries to just declare their inability to repay their debts' and than just default.

    By Anonymous dennis the menance, at October 24, 2011 at 1:50 AM  

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