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Looks like housing market bubble burst!
September 25, 2006
Home Prices Drop After 11-Year Ascent
By JEREMY W. PETERS
The median price of a previously owned home fell for the first time in 11 years last month, and inventories of unsold homes swelled to levels not seen in more than a decade.
The number of existing homes sold also fell, but by only a small amount, suggesting that the sharp decline in home sales seen earlier this year has leveled off for now.
The National Association of Realtors reported today that existing home sales dropped 0.5 percent from July to August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.3 million units. That compares with a decline from June to July of 4.1 percent.
The median price in August fell to $225,000, down 1.7 percent from August 2005. That was the first time since April 1995 that the national median price was lower than the same month a year before.
David Lereah, chief economist of the association, said he expects prices to continue to fall. “We do expect an adjustment in home prices to last several months, as we work through a buildup in the inventory of homes on the market,” he said in a written statement. “This is the price correction we’ve been expecting — with sales stabilizing, we should go back to positive price growth early next year.”
At the end of August, there were enough unsold, previously owned homes on the market that it would take 7½ months to sell them all at the current sales pace. The association said that was a bigger backlog than at any time since April 1993.
cont'd at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/bu...rtner=homepage
Home Prices Drop After 11-Year Ascent
By JEREMY W. PETERS
The median price of a previously owned home fell for the first time in 11 years last month, and inventories of unsold homes swelled to levels not seen in more than a decade.
The number of existing homes sold also fell, but by only a small amount, suggesting that the sharp decline in home sales seen earlier this year has leveled off for now.
The National Association of Realtors reported today that existing home sales dropped 0.5 percent from July to August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.3 million units. That compares with a decline from June to July of 4.1 percent.
The median price in August fell to $225,000, down 1.7 percent from August 2005. That was the first time since April 1995 that the national median price was lower than the same month a year before.
David Lereah, chief economist of the association, said he expects prices to continue to fall. “We do expect an adjustment in home prices to last several months, as we work through a buildup in the inventory of homes on the market,” he said in a written statement. “This is the price correction we’ve been expecting — with sales stabilizing, we should go back to positive price growth early next year.”
At the end of August, there were enough unsold, previously owned homes on the market that it would take 7½ months to sell them all at the current sales pace. The association said that was a bigger backlog than at any time since April 1993.
cont'd at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/bu...rtner=homepage
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