Existing home sales decline in March as housing slump continues

[hipmatt]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080422/economy.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of existing homes fell in March while the median home price declined, compared with the price a year ago, as a severe slump in housing showed no signs of abating.

The National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums dropped by 2 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million units.

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The median price of a home sold last month dropped to $200,700, a decline of 7.7 percent from the median price a year ago. That was the second-biggest year-over-year price decline on records dating back to 1999.

The March sales decline, which was in line with expectations, followed a 2.9 percent increase in sales in February. The February rise, which followed six straight monthly declines, had raised hopes that the steep housing correction could be hitting bottom.

However, many private analysts said they do not expect a rebound for a number of months, given the problems weighing on housing from a severe glut of unsold homes to tighter credit standards for prospective buyers and a rising tide of mortgage foreclosures.

Sales were down 19.3 percent compared with a year ago, reflecting the depth of the housing bust, which is coming after sales set records for five consecutive years.

For March, sales were down 6.5 percent in the Midwest and 3.5 percent in the South but increased by 2.2 percent in the Northeast and 2.2 percent in the West.

The Northeast was the only region of the country to experience a rise in median prices, which were up 4.6 percent compared with a year ago. Prices were down in all other regions of the country, dropping by 14.7 percent in the West, 7.1 percent in the South and 5.3 percent in the Midwest.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors, said that he expected sales would begin to show improvements in the second half of this year, helped by an improved availability of mortgage-backed insurance from the Federal Housing Administration and higher limits for jumbo mortgages, loans which are critically important in high-priced areas of the country such as California.

[Anonymous]

increased by 2.2 percent in the Northeast and 2.2 percent in the West

[Anonymous]

increased by 2.2 percent in the Northeast and 2.2 percent in the West

[Anonymous]

increased by 2.2 percent in the Northeast and 2.2 percent in the West

[Anonymous]

increased by 2.2 percent in the Northeast and 2.2 percent in the West

[Anonymous]

increased by 2.2 percent in the Northeast and 2.2 percent in the West

[Bugs]

All real estate is local.

Locally, the total number of sales of homes and condos as reported through the MLS is down by 28% when compared to last year:

Year__Jan___Feb___Mar__Total
2007..1750..1851..2419..6020
2008..1308..1430..1595..4333
Chg___-25%__-23%__-34%__-28%

I had to recheck the numbers twice – especially for March – because I couldn’t believe how bad they look.

Not only that, but February 2008 had 1 additional day (leap year). If not for the extra day, it would have come in at 1260 sales, or almost 32% below Feb 2007.

I don’t suppose I need to remind anyone here that yr2007 was the worst year for sales in terms of volume since 1996. Unless the trend from the 1st quarter completely reverses it looks like 2008 might be the worst year since the mid-1980s, back when we had 20% fewer housing units.

We currently have 18660 actives and 5148 pendings reported in the MLS for SD County. Add those together and you come out to 23808; divide by 2000 (avg Monthly closed sales) and that comes out to almost 12 months of inventory vs. closed sales.

I know some people like to count the pendings as sales, but really, they don’t count toward the monthly rate of sales until they close.

[Bugs]

All real estate is local.

Locally, the total number of sales of homes and condos as reported through the MLS is down by 28% when compared to last year:

Year__Jan___Feb___Mar__Total
2007..1750..1851..2419..6020
2008..1308..1430..1595..4333
Chg___-25%__-23%__-34%__-28%

I had to recheck the numbers twice – especially for March – because I couldn’t believe how bad they look.

Not only that, but February 2008 had 1 additional day (leap year). If not for the extra day, it would have come in at 1260 sales, or almost 32% below Feb 2007.

I don’t suppose I need to remind anyone here that yr2007 was the worst year for sales in terms of volume since 1996. Unless the trend from the 1st quarter completely reverses it looks like 2008 might be the worst year since the mid-1980s, back when we had 20% fewer housing units.

We currently have 18660 actives and 5148 pendings reported in the MLS for SD County. Add those together and you come out to 23808; divide by 2000 (avg Monthly closed sales) and that comes out to almost 12 months of inventory vs. closed sales.

I know some people like to count the pendings as sales, but really, they don’t count toward the monthly rate of sales until they close.

[Bugs]

All real estate is local.

Locally, the total number of sales of homes and condos as reported through the MLS is down by 28% when compared to last year:

Year__Jan___Feb___Mar__Total
2007..1750..1851..2419..6020
2008..1308..1430..1595..4333
Chg___-25%__-23%__-34%__-28%

I had to recheck the numbers twice – especially for March – because I couldn’t believe how bad they look.

Not only that, but February 2008 had 1 additional day (leap year). If not for the extra day, it would have come in at 1260 sales, or almost 32% below Feb 2007.

I don’t suppose I need to remind anyone here that yr2007 was the worst year for sales in terms of volume since 1996. Unless the trend from the 1st quarter completely reverses it looks like 2008 might be the worst year since the mid-1980s, back when we had 20% fewer housing units.

We currently have 18660 actives and 5148 pendings reported in the MLS for SD County. Add those together and you come out to 23808; divide by 2000 (avg Monthly closed sales) and that comes out to almost 12 months of inventory vs. closed sales.

I know some people like to count the pendings as sales, but really, they don’t count toward the monthly rate of sales until they close.

[Bugs]

All real estate is local.

Locally, the total number of sales of homes and condos as reported through the MLS is down by 28% when compared to last year:

Year__Jan___Feb___Mar__Total
2007..1750..1851..2419..6020
2008..1308..1430..1595..4333
Chg___-25%__-23%__-34%__-28%

I had to recheck the numbers twice – especially for March – because I couldn’t believe how bad they look.

Not only that, but February 2008 had 1 additional day (leap year). If not for the extra day, it would have come in at 1260 sales, or almost 32% below Feb 2007.

I don’t suppose I need to remind anyone here that yr2007 was the worst year for sales in terms of volume since 1996. Unless the trend from the 1st quarter completely reverses it looks like 2008 might be the worst year since the mid-1980s, back when we had 20% fewer housing units.

We currently have 18660 actives and 5148 pendings reported in the MLS for SD County. Add those together and you come out to 23808; divide by 2000 (avg Monthly closed sales) and that comes out to almost 12 months of inventory vs. closed sales.

I know some people like to count the pendings as sales, but really, they don’t count toward the monthly rate of sales until they close.

[Bugs]

All real estate is local.

Locally, the total number of sales of homes and condos as reported through the MLS is down by 28% when compared to last year:

Year__Jan___Feb___Mar__Total
2007..1750..1851..2419..6020
2008..1308..1430..1595..4333
Chg___-25%__-23%__-34%__-28%

I had to recheck the numbers twice – especially for March – because I couldn’t believe how bad they look.

Not only that, but February 2008 had 1 additional day (leap year). If not for the extra day, it would have come in at 1260 sales, or almost 32% below Feb 2007.

I don’t suppose I need to remind anyone here that yr2007 was the worst year for sales in terms of volume since 1996. Unless the trend from the 1st quarter completely reverses it looks like 2008 might be the worst year since the mid-1980s, back when we had 20% fewer housing units.

We currently have 18660 actives and 5148 pendings reported in the MLS for SD County. Add those together and you come out to 23808; divide by 2000 (avg Monthly closed sales) and that comes out to almost 12 months of inventory vs. closed sales.

I know some people like to count the pendings as sales, but really, they don’t count toward the monthly rate of sales until they close.

[DWCAP]

Excellent commentary bugs.

skywalker, yah up 2.2% in the west, but prices are down -14.7%.
Ouch.

[DWCAP]

Excellent commentary bugs.

skywalker, yah up 2.2% in the west, but prices are down -14.7%.
Ouch.

[DWCAP]

Excellent commentary bugs.

skywalker, yah up 2.2% in the west, but prices are down -14.7%.
Ouch.

[DWCAP]

Excellent commentary bugs.

skywalker, yah up 2.2% in the west, but prices are down -14.7%.
Ouch.

[Author]

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