Slight Improvement in Home Sales
January 7, 2008
Some good news in the housing market was released recently. In November, sales of previously owned homes rose slightly. This came amid record foreclosures and tightened credit standards.
Recently, the National Association of Realtors announced that sales of existing single-family homes, condominiums, and town homes rose a meager 0.4 percent from October. This results in a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units. Even so, the level of sales was still the second-lowest on record going back to 1999. The lowest pace was recorded in October at 4.9 million.
“There is little reason to pop open any champagne corks,” said Michael Larson, a real-estate analyst at Weiss Research Inc. With sales down 20 percent from Nov of 2006, the sector still has a ways to go. Experts had forecast that November sales would increase slightly or hold steady.
The median price of an average home sold last month was $210,200. This is a 3.3 percent drop from a year ago. It was the fifth largest annual decline on record and many experts expect this trend to continue into 2008.
According to Ken Mayland, president of Clear View Economics, “There is no doubt that housing is weak and will be weak in 2008.