Ok, so NATIONALLY (all RE is local remember)pending house sales are increasing. If you read farther down the list, the jump was almost entirly in the Northeast, with the remainder in the Midwest. The south fell slightly and the west did was I can only guess was a totally normal and unremarkable spring bounce. Doesn’t scream bottom anywhere but the Northeast, maybe, but now, lets look at what it took to get us to this large gain:
1)8k Tax credits,
2)Absurd interest rates,
3)falling and in some areas unabsurd prices
4)a massive PR campaign by the RE groups
5)A record low in January, off which any dead cat could bounce.
6)A spring selling season.
7)Massive REO sales which generally are priced low and intended to sell quick. (isnt it like 40% of sales are ‘distressed’in some way?)
8) The take over and total subsidazation of Fannie/Freddie to the tune of hundreds of Billions of dollars in tax payer money (with politically driven funding practices now inforce)
9) The resumption of FHA loans (3.5% down payment) being a major mover in the market place.
10) The total subsidation of the major banks, and the prerequisit political threats to spur banks to lend money.
I am sure there are a few more, the the point is made.
And please remember that this is all pointless if the houses dont actually sell. Even the incorrect one himself, Yun, admits that sales are likly to face trouble closing with higher rates and the pain of the short sale process. And pending sales that dont actually sell are really just a big waste of time.
Also, HIDDEN at the end of the story, which no one is mentioning it seems, is the record fall in the Median price.
[quote]The national median sales price in April plunged more than 15 percent to $170,200, from $201,300 in the same month last year. That was the second largest yearly price drop on record, according to the Realtors’ group. [/quote]
Now we all know the problems with the median price, and the obvious issues the median is now suffering that make it a less than ideal measure of current housing prices. But couldnt the headline have also read:
“Housing prices falling at a near record pace despite unpresidented government intervention”
just as easily? But then, that wouldnt be very optimistic, and would not play into the advertising campaigns of those that earn their living off selling houses. Please ignor those little facts, dont do any investigation, and tell everyone you know to go out and buy as much housing as possible. Dont you know, high housing prices are good for everyone, President Obama said it himself.
