The median price of a previously owned house decreased 1.8 percent to $165,100 from $168,200 a year ago, today’s report showed. Purchases climbed 7.9 percent compared with a year earlier prior to adjusting for seasonal patterns.
The number of homes on the market jumped 9.5 percent, pushing the time it would take to sell all properties at the current sales pace up to 8.6 months from 7.8 months at the end of January.
‘Unusual,’ ‘Discomforting’
The increase in supply last month was “unusual” and “discomforting,” Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, said in a news conference. The jump may be caused by more distressed properties coming on the market, particularly condominiums, and by trade-up buyers who are now putting their houses up for sale before purchasing another property, he said.
If inventories exceed a 10-months’ supply, it would lead to larger price declines and signal the housing slump was not over, he said.
The report showed sales of existing single-family homes decreased 1.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.37 million, while inventory climbed 6.4 percent. Sales of condos and co-ops increased 4.8 percent to a 650,000 rate and supply jumped by 28 percent.
The Obama administration in November extended a tax credit for first-time buyers due to expire at the end of that month and expanded it to include some current owners. The extension covers closings through June as long as contracts are signed by the end of April.
Boost from Credit
The boost from the credit will probably not be visible in the data until May or June, just before the incentive ends, said NAR’s Yun, citing the experience in the months just before the original November expiration.
“That process of repair is going to take a long time,” Geithner said today in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. He said the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will issue a request for comment by April 15 on how to overhaul the U.S. housing- finance system and its regulatory structure.
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OT: Like clockwork, the lying banker media is at it already ....
ReplyDeletePoll: USA favors health care plan
49% have a favorable view of the health care overhaul that President Obama signed into law today, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, a notable turnaround from surveys before the vote.
Trade up buyers?!?! Is this guy serious? He thinks the bump in houses on the market is because people are selling their current homes to buy MORE home?
ReplyDeleteNothing out of that liar's mouth is true...Time and time again he has either lied or misrepresented the numbers...I wonder what his angle is on this?
ReplyDeleteThat or he's down playing it when it's really a Code Red Alert in his industry.
Florida has only sold off 18% of it's outstanding foreclosure inventory, and the inventory is growing by leaps and bounds.
ReplyDeletePrices are coming down at minimum another 15% over the next 2 years if not more. The shadow inventory is huge.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that should be "unusual and discomforting" is that this guy should have a paper mortgage shoved up his rectal cavity.
ReplyDeleteThen lets see how credible he is after screaming "UNCLE"