New Homes Sales Fall to Six-Month Low, Prices Decline

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Purchases of new houses in the U.S. declined in August to a six-month low as the biggest drop in prices in two years failed to lure buyers away from even less expensive distressed properties.

Sales, tabulated when contracts are signed, dropped 2.3 percent to a 295,000 annual pace, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median estimate of 73 economists in a Bloomberg News survey called for a decline to 293,000. The median price slumped 7.7 percent from August 2010, the steepest 12-month drop since July 2009.

Foreclosure-driven price decreases for previously owned homes may keep attracting investors away from new properties, hurting builders like Lennar Corp. Limited access to credit, rising unemployment and waning consumer confidence also signal the industry that helped precipitate the recession will take time to find its footing.

“Sales are very weak, and there will be very little improvement over the next couple of months,” said Celia Chen, a housing economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “We expect a step up in distressed home sales, which will put more downward pressure on prices. It’ll be a very slow return to normal.” ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-26/sales-of-new-u-s-homes-decreased-to-six-month-low-in-august.html

[FarCenter]

1. With median prices down 7.9%, this must mean that more low and middle income housing is available?

[Broderick]

3. Gotta have a job to get one of those

and 9.1 percent of the population isn't able to find one, and about 16 to 17 percent are underemployed. none of that includes those that stopped looking. The banks aren't loaning like they used to either because they are sitting on mountains of foreclosures.

[customerserviceguy]

5. Don't forget a large down payment

and near-perfect credit, either.

As for prices coming down, well, they're down to the outrageous, rather than the flipping outrageous, where they were when the bubble popped.

Housing will not be affordable for working people anytime soon, but it's getting there.

[GSLevel9]

2. Sky is blue! News at 11.

[defendandprotect]

4. kr