Existing Home Sales

Bloomberg Reports on NAR's Existing Home Sales Numbers

U.S. home resales fell 1.9 percent in September and prices dropped from year-ago levels for a second month, the first back-to-back monthly declines since 1990.

Existing home sales fell to an annual rate of 6.18 million rate, the lowest since January 2004, from 6.3 million in August, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington.

Compared with a year earlier, sales were down 14.2 percent, the Realtors group said. Home resales have fallen every month since March.

The median sales price fell 2.2 percent to $220,000 from a year earlier. Prices in August had fallen for the first time in 11 years.

The number of homes for sale fell 2.4 percent from August to 3.75 million, remaining at a 7.3 months' supply.

Nationally, the September median sales price is down 2.2% from a year ago. In real dollars that national is a decline of over 5%. The housing bubble has occured in many places throughout the US. These locales are enough to make national YoY price declines.

"Existing condominium and cooperative housing sales fell 3.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 units in September from 788,000 in August, and were 16.0 percent less than the 908,000-unit pace in September 2005. The median existing condo price was $219,800 in September, which is 2.8 percent lower than a year ago (NAR)"

"The worst is behind us as far as a market correction _ this is likely the trough for sales," said David Lereah, the Realtors' chief economist. "When consumers recognize that home sales are stabilizing, we'll see the buyers who've been on the sidelines get back into the market."

Another inane comment by Mr. Lereah. Consumers care far more about house prices stabilizing then 'home sales stabilizing.' Prices will continue to fall in the bubble markets over the coming years. Don't be fooled by David 'Paid Shill' Lereah.