New Low For Existing Home Sales

Latest Data Signals Housing Market Distress Not Over

(AP)  An industry group said Tuesday that pending U.S. home sales fell in February to the lowest reading since the index began, signaling the housing market distress is not yet over.

The National Association of Realtors' seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes fell to 84.6 from January's upwardly revised reading of 86.2. The index stood at 107.6 in February 2007.

Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR had predicted the index would inch up to a reading of 86.3.

A reading of 100 is equal to the average level of sales activity in 2001, when the index started. The previous low was August's reading of 85.8, recorded at the height of the credit crunch.

With house prices falling and credit continuing to tighten, many economists say the housing market is likely to worsen in the coming months, though some remain hopeful about a recovery in the second half of the year.

"The question was whether things were starting to stabilize," said Global Insight economist Patrick Newport. "Apparently they're not."

Newport predicts home sales will fall by another 5 to 10 percent before picking up at the end of the year, while the Realtors group forecasts sales will remain flat in the first half of the year before rebounding strongly in the second half.

The Realtors report gives an early indication of how existing home sales are likely to fare for March, because of the typical lag of a month or two between when a buyer signs a home sales contract and the closing of the deal.

Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist, said in a statement that the decline in pending home sales "implies we're not out of the woods yet, though an era of successive deep sales declines appears to be over."

The Realtors group maintained its prediction that the housing market would pick up in the second half of the year, forecasting improved availability of loans for more expensive houses.

Sales of existing homes posted an unexpected increase in February, rising by 2.9 percent after six months of declines.

Some say lower home prices are providing incentive for bottom-fishers to look for cheap deals, however it remains unclear how much of a boost that will provide.

"We'll have to see if these pending transactions can actually close," Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Jupiter, Fla.-based Weiss Research said in an e-mail. "My concern is that stingier lending standards are leading to more deals falling apart."

[tulcak]

first of all, its not the democrats that are split on this issue... the issue is (which makes me so angry) that the republicans want to help the rich people who bought homes and big business (like developers, contractors, financers).... PEOPLE, ITS THESE EXACT PEOPLE THAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! to h*ell with them. the people that need the help are the middle-class and lower class that are being foreclosed on... these are the people that need the help. why are we helping people that caused the problem and who should have been regulated in the first place to prevent their greed from causing this crisis... ah, the h*ell with it... nothing makes any sense anymore... is their a madness disease that is spreading that some of us are immune to? its truly scary

[naucoming4u]

And the millions of people who became realestate agents and/or mortgage brokers over the past 5 to 8 years are now out of work, or have so little work that they are working at WalMart and other retail/service jobs just to put food on the table. Of course, these people are not factored into the "unemployment" statistics unless they have formally filed for unemployment. But since realestate agents work on commission, they are generally not laid off from their employer... they are just forced to STARVE!

[forthepeopl1]

SORRY TO TELL YOU DRIVEL, WITH OVER TEN MILLION MORTGAGES IN TROUBLE RIGHT NOW, AND THIS DOESN''T INCLUDE ALL THE SECOUND MORTGAGES GOING BAD,AND COMERCIAL LOANS GOING BAD, THE REAL JOB LOST TOTAL OF OVER 250,000 SO FAR THIS YEAR, AND MORE COMMING DOWN THE ROAD ALOT MORE,

I AGREE THEIR WERE ALOT OF SCUM GETTING LOANS BUT TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, AND LOOK IT UP IT ONLY REPERCENTS ONLY 1 PERCENT OF ALL MORTGAGES GOING BAD!!! SO IT IS NOT ALL SCUM BAGS LOSEING THERE HOMES IT ALOT OF GOOD HARD WORKING AMERICA, FROM LOSEING THIER JOBS, AND FOR WHAT THIS GOVERNMENT HAS DONE TO THE ECONOMIE,

AND UNTIL CONGRESS GROSS SOME AND TELL ALL BANKS TO RE-FI ALL MORTGAGES AT A FARE PRICE OF THE VALUE, LIKE THIS, 2005 MY HOUSE WAS APPRAISED FOR 550,000 GUESS WHAT IT WAS JUST APPRAISED FOR??? HOW ABOUT 225000 MAYBE!!!! SO WHAT IS UP WITH THAT???

SO NO ONE KNOW WHAT ANYTHING IS WORTH!!!!!!!!!

[drivelphobe]

The news just keeps getting better. The lower the home prices, the more foreclosures, the more bankruptcies, the more lending institutions in trouble, the better. Let all these opportunists go down the drain and everyone who assisted them as well.

95% of homeowners are fine and paying their mortgages. The others are slimy, cheating weasels who thought they could beat the system. They can all rot in jail or out on the street for all I care.

[neenga]

"People need to quit being so freaking materialistic"

There ya go! This recession might force people to re-evaluate LIFE. Can they deal with small cars or houses? Can they deal with clothing from JC Penney? Can they deal with in-country vacations? Can they deal with 32" t.v. screens? Can they deal with sharing a bathroom?

[forthepeopl1]

BETRAYUS, NEEDS TO BE TOLD GUESS WHAT, YOUR FIRED!

AND WE THE PEOPLE ARE DONE WITH YOU AND BUSH CHENENY RICE, AND BY THE WAY WE DE COMMION YOU TO A PRIVATE, SO GET OUT..

WHAT A PEICE OF *** HE IS..I WOULD NOT FOLLOW THIS BUSH LOVEING WAR MONGER, HE THINKS HE THE GREAT GENERAL PATTON..WRONGE...

WHAT A JOKE CONGRESS IS, IF THEY WANT THE WAR TO STOP THEY HAVE THE POWER...MONEY....THEY CONTROL THE PURSE, SO I WOULD TELL BETRAYUS YOU HAVE ALL THE MONEY YOU WANT BUT IT IS TO BE USE TO GET OUR TROOPS HOME AND THATS THAT...BUSH COULDED DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, NOTHING,,NO VETO, HE COULD SCREAM ALL HE WANTS AND GET ALL RED FACE, AND CONGRESS COULD SMILE AND SAY F-YOU..HA HA HA HA THEY SHOULD OF DID THIS 5 YEARS AGO. NOW THAT WE KNOW THAT WE ATTACT IRAQ WITH NOTHING BUT SPECULATION..ON WHAT SOMETHING MIGHT HAPPEN YEARS DOWN THE ROAD..PURE AND SIMPLE, WE INVATED A COUNTRY THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9-11


DONT WORRIE BE-TRAY-US WILL COME TO THE RESCUE

[sebastian27-2009]

Remember "stagflation" in the time of Jimmy Carter. Well, it''s here again. Home sales are in the pits, and my favorite breakfast at MacDonalds just jumped from $ 3.92 to $ 4.52. Now that''s inflation.

[ianlou]

9/11 attacks only occured in three states, did this deserve a little perspective also?

[ajaxrose1]

As always, the media makes a mountain out of a molehill. Personally, I tend not to feel sorry for someone when they get foreclosed on just for being too stupid to live within their means. I bought a house when I was a SINGLE MOTHER (NOT living off the state, by the way) and have been a homeowner ever since. NOT because I''m wealthy, but because my family and I know what a budget is and live within our means. People need to quit being so freaking materialistic.

[ianlou]

I''m in Michigan, you can keep your perspective.

[xlib]

Our son recently retired from the Air Force.He and his wife plan to settle here in WEstern New YOrk. In speaking to the realtor they are working with she said that the sub prime bubble hit a total of 11 states. That''s 11 states out of 50. Here, the market is brisk. A home goes on the market and many are sold at full price in one day. So, could we have a little bit of perspective in this issue?? Nope, can''t do that.