Home Sales Plummet In June

2.6 Percent Drop Double What Was Expected, Fueling Worst Slump In 20 Years

(CBS/ AP)  Sales of existing homes fell more sharply than expected in June as the housing industry continued to be bruised by the worst slump in more than two decades.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales dropped by 2.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million units. That was more than double the decline that had been expected and left sales 15.5 percent below where they were a year ago.

The downward slide in sales depressed prices, too. The median price for a home sold in June dropped to $215,100, down by 6.1 percent from a year ago. That was the fifth largest year-over-year price drop on record.

The drop in sales pushed inventories of unsold single-family homes and condominiums to 4.49 million units, up by 0.2 percent. That represented a 11.1 month supply at the June sales pace, the second highest level in the past 24 years.

Sales were down in all regions of the country except the West, which posted a 1 percent sales increase. Sales fell by 6.6 percent in the Northeast, 3.4 percent in the Midwest and 3.1 percent in the South.

Analysts said that until the inventory level is reduced to more normal levels, the slump in housing is likely to persist. The inventory level is being driven higher by a massive wave of mortgage foreclosures, however.

Seeking to address the housing crisis, Congress is moving to pass a sweeping package of rescue measures. The plan includes support to keep as many as 400,000 homeowners from losing their homes to foreclosure and a federal lifeline to bolster troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The House passed the bill Wednesday and the Senate is expected to pass the proposal in coming days, sending it to President Bush. The president has dropped a threatened veto over a portion of the bill.

After the president said he wouldn't veto, shares of Fannie Mae shot up by close to 12 percent and shares of Freddie Mac rose by 11 percent, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod.

Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com said that the move was "absolutely necessary," Axelrod reports.

"If this hadn't been passed, I think confidence would have completely evaporated. You would have seen Fannie and Freddie on a financial precipice," Zandi said.

[antoniof123]

Thank you Repblicans I am certain that I will never vote for a GOP neo con again.

Thank is for certain John McCain.

[Michael Arnold]

The Fed runs under its own rules dictated by Wall Street. Makes no difference who is President. Understand that, people.

[wdrussell1]

Notice when you see these stories.

It is the worst(whatever), in X number of years.
It always takes you back to when another republican was president.

[wardoglrs]

Stop with the Repubs BS. The Dems do nothing. If the Dem''s are so wonderful why did they vote for the FISA bill?. Why did they give bush everything he wanted.
Enough of the same ole *** every election.

Go with a third party blow the Dems and RePubs out replace them with nothing

[Gary Kempf]

(CBS/ AP) Sales of existing homes fell more sharply than expected in June as the housing industry continued to be bruised by the worst slump in more than two decades.

That is because the housing market has a long way to go before they get back to realistic prices....

[r9119111]

With $6.50 an hour,who can afford a home at these prices? I''m for voting out of office every politician who hasn''t done his best to do what is right for the good of all of the American people. I want to see their voting records and with an explanation of what they have voted for and against. I''m an Independent voter and I want to know.

[drivelphobe]

The news just keeps getting better and better. Homes are just too expensive so what''s the problem? The greed of the flippers and scam investors is being justly paid back. Hope they all go belly up.

[downsteamjim]

When you sell $250,000 homes to people who cannot possible make the notes, some companies need to go broke. Why should taxpayers bail out scam artists and speculators?

Things will not get better until homes come back down to normal prices at about $150,000 for a medium priced home. And income must start going up or people will not be able to afford buying a home.

It is the banks fault for lending $400,000 dollars for a home that was never worth more than $200.000. Also, they knew that property assesors were inflating the value of homes so that they could make the loans. All of it was criminal. The banks should take the hit, and be made to reduce the loans value to the real value, then the customer can afford the new loans, and the banks take the hit. And die.

[smiley676]

They dropped in England too.

This is what happens. Home sales were so high, they had to come down.

And the more banks foreclose instead of working with homeowners, the worse it is going to get. No one wants to buy a house in a neighborhood of empty houses.

But what goes up must come down and vice versa.

[antoniof123]

Stop with the Repubs BS. The Dems do nothing. If the Dem''''s are so wonderful why did they vote for the FISA bill?. Why did they give bush everything he wanted.
Enough of the same ole *** every election.

Go with a third party blow the Dems and RePubs out replace them with nothing

Posted by WarDogLRS at 12:10 PM : Jul 24, 2008

the problem is with the Republicans they used hate for so long that now when they need to catch a break most Americans are tired of listening to them.

Hey if you spend 6 years on a witch hunt and find that the President had *** you are wasting time. That was 1,000 Subpoenas that amounts to 3 a day you fill the country with hate this is what you get in return.

You say that Americans are traitors "your either with us or your with them", this is what you get.

Sorry to burst your bubble but the GOP could have broken the pattern it still remains to be seen if the Democrarts will.

[husein_pasha]

Here the homes or the lots in the good neighbourhoods are expensive, too. I want to nuy a lot and to build something but the prices of the lots are growing like avelanche

[nojoy01]

Ya know, it was a great ride while it lasted. Let''s see, as the bank I''m gonna loan you money to buy a house you can''t afford to pay for. But that''s all right ''cause the housing market has been going nowhere but up. So, when you default on the note you can''t afford, it''s no big deal. We the bank will just ''flip'' the house ourselves, loan more money, & make money off both ends of the deal. And the best part of the whole thing, it''s not my money, it''s the depositors money & if something goes wrong, the Feds can''t possibly let that many people lose that much money. So the Feds will bail us out. Sweet. That''s a win/win for us. Yes, I have, on occasion, been accused of being ''cynical'', but I don''t understand why.

[farmerbb]

Watch for the new TV show "Flop This House". This entire problem could have been avoided if those who LENT the money out, had to KEEP that loan. Make a bad loan, and YOU suffer the consequences. Selling these loans to higher and higher groups, was a recipe for disaster. There was no one there to check the loan was "good". Now EVERYONE has to pay to get out of this mess. Except, of course, those who made fat commissions signing up all those bad loans.

[toldyouso12]

Hmmmmm....as the layoffs continue--the outsourcing and insourcing continues....and Americans still have no jobs or must take lower paying jobs that cannot meet their mortgage--what kind of new bail out will Congress have to offer for the rest of the country? it won''t be based on bad lending--but on their own poor governance...and since each bail out futher weakens the dollar and increases inflation--if they have to bail out the rest of us what will gas and food go to then? 9.50/gal for gas? 23.45 for a package of ground beef?

It''s all interconnected--those who favor bail outs or eternal war at 300 to 500 million dollars a day in Iraq--should all remember this. And don''t look for the laid off consumer to float the economy--because they won''t have the jobs to do so.

[toldyouso12]

Go with a third party blow the Dems and RePubs out replace them with nothing

Posted by WarDogLRS at 12:10 PM : Jul 24, 2008


That''s right genius. Replace them with nothing or a 3rd party candidate--then watch that candidate go belly up as a lame duck because neither party in Congress will back them. Independent candidates can''t win--because they have no political infrastructure and they all have diverging agendas anyway. But here''s deal our little anarchist--without a functioning government (your nothing) you don''t get squat. Not SS, not health care, not oversight on meds, not police, not military, not bridges or roads or schools, not cheap utilities (they are subsidized) not air and radio wave time, nothing--you get chaos that will make you see even the times of Bush as paradise--why don''t you just say you want he fast track to an Iraqi or Afghani like cultural experience? LMAO

[sistatee-2009]

What, the illegals who work for nothing, and the Chinese slave children who took all our jobs aren''t buying real estate in the United States? Who coulda guessed?

[marshall65]

Stop ''whining''.

[mbcsmith]

Watch for the new TV show "Flop This House". This entire problem could have been avoided if those who LENT the money out, had to KEEP that loan. Make a bad loan, and YOU suffer the consequences. Selling these loans to higher and higher groups, was a recipe for disaster. There was no one there to check the loan was "good". Now EVERYONE has to pay to get out of this mess. Except, of course, those who made fat commissions signing up all those bad loans.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by farmerbb at 02:06 PM : Jul 24, 2008




Typical LIB, any blame for those who BORROWED the money and didn''t pay it back?

[skyk-2009]

It''s a sad sad world we leave the next Generation. We bought into lies and we allowed power hunger people to divide us. Now we become the FIRST Generation that will NOT pass to the next a better life. I don''t know why we allowed people who were OBVIOUSLY bought by Big Banks to write laws on their regulation but that is EXACTLY what Phil Gramn and the Republican Party did and we have no idea yet the price we will pay for that mistake. Let''s try NOT to make a worse one in November. We MUST change course!!

[skyk-2009]

Typical LIB, any blame for those who BORROWED the money and didn''''t pay it back?

Posted by mbcsmith at 03:58 PM : Jul 24, 2008

How many people KNEW that the regulations and Laws our Fathers put on the books to prevent the kind of lending these Banks were doing wasn''t there anymore. The Republican''s took them off and hardly a word was being said. When I and the Wife first bought a house we had to bring in W-2''s and a record of our debt. A professional went over those finances and determined IF we should get the loan. That''s because your average guy on the street doesn''t know that much about finances. Failure to do that would cost them their license. Want to know where those regs went? Yep Phil Gramn removed them.

[redbds]

Ya know, it was a great ride while it lasted. Let''''s see, as the bank I''''m gonna loan you money to buy a house you can''''t afford to pay for. But that''''s all right ''''cause the housing market has been going nowhere but up. So, when you default on the note you can''''t afford, it''''s no big deal. We the bank will just ''''flip'''' the house ourselves, loan more money, & make money off both ends of the deal. And the best part of the whole thing, it''''s not my money, it''''s the depositors money & if something goes wrong, the Feds can''''t possibly let that many people lose that much money. So the Feds will bail us out. Sweet. That''''s a win/win for us. Yes, I have, on occasion, been accused of being ''''cynical'''', but I don''''t understand why.

Posted by nojoy01 at 02:02 PM : Jul 24, 2008

[redbds]

Ya know, it was a great ride while it lasted. Let''''s see, as the bank I''''m gonna loan you money to buy a house you can''''t afford to pay for. But that''''s all right ''''cause the housing market has been going nowhere but up. So, when you default on the note you can''''t afford, it''''s no big deal. We the bank will just ''''flip'''' the house ourselves, loan more money, & make money off both ends of the deal. And the best part of the whole thing, it''''s not my money, it''''s the depositors money & if something goes wrong, the Feds can''''t possibly let that many people lose that much money. So the Feds will bail us out. Sweet. That''''s a win/win for us. Yes, I have, on occasion, been accused of being ''''cynical'''', but I don''''t understand why.

Posted by nojoy01 at 02:02 PM : Jul 24, 2008

I meant to say that I totally agree with your take on this. would only add that some of the borrowers who bought bigger houses than they could afford also hold part of the blame.

[tylenol6]

The housing bill that the idiot''s in congress just passed is a whopping $800 billion dollar gift from the
taxpayers. Ron Paul says, "It is the mother of all bail outs." According to Ron Paul, also in the bill which most of the moron''s in congress did NOT read was that "all credit card transactions will now be reported to the IRS." We need to vote all the garbage in Washington out of office (both democrat & republican trash).

[iphyt4u]

Unemployment is up. Inflation is rising. Gasoline is at an all time high. And now the experts are telling me that home sales are down. As soon as I get layed off, I''m going to run out and buy a house. Hopefully, my next job will have a really long commute. I''ll put a brand new SUV on the credit card! If anyone can find the guy who''s in charge, fire him.

[dinkydog1]

Typical LIB, any blame for those who BORROWED the money and didn''''''''t pay it back?

Posted by mbcsmith

.......................

Let''s see, if I borrowed $450,000 on house in one of those skyrocketing housing markets and ten months later it wasn''t worth $275K yes I might default, especially if my adjustable rate loan jacked up a point or two.

[hypnotoad72]

Typical LIB, any blame for those who BORROWED the money and didn''''t pay it back?

Posted by mbcsmith
------------------------------

What''s the national debt right now?

[hypnotoad72]

Typical LIB, any blame for those who BORROWED the money and didn''''t pay it back?

Posted by mbcsmith
-------------

What''s the national debt right now? (Proof that it''s not party-line antics but politician-centric antics. And yet centrist voters are blamed for being the cause of all sorts of problems...)

[DebbieKirkland]

"After the president said he wouldn''t veto, shares of Fannie Mae shot up by close to 12 percent and shares of Freddie Mac rose by 11 percent,.."

So who owns all those stocks?
Not that I am not grateful for every chance for this housing market to recover. Without it, every other aspect of our lives will suffer. I have one comment.. the Govt. needs to go in to these banks and CLEAN house, just like they did when the SEC was out of control! How about these banks cancel these loans..re-appraise and valuate and re-issue loans for the true "market-value",.. maybe then properties would sell,.. and they would in turn make even more money. Sure beats getting them all back!

[sistatee-2009]

The CEO''s of these failed banks are laughing their _sses off. They played the "suck and dump" game really well. Suck every dime they can out of the bank''s carcass, and then dump it on the taxpayers. They should each face a firing squad

[nothappyatall]

Sales were down in all regions of the country except the West, "

DUH, let''s see, mortgage crisis meltdown = lot of people cant AFFORD their existing homes, so like they are going to just up, move and buy another one right?

[l8c6]

Typical LIB, any blame for those who BORROWED the money and didn''''''''''''''''t pay it back?

Posted by mbcsmith

Well, hmm, I have a friend who clearly has republican leanings and he is disgusted with the banking industry attributing this crisis to greed on it''s sorry azz.

[l8c6]

The housing bill that the idiot''''s in congress just passed is a whopping $800 billion dollar gift from the
taxpayers. Ron Paul says, "It is the mother of all bail outs." According to Ron Paul, also in the bill which most of the moron''''s in congress did NOT read was that "all credit card transactions will now be reported to the IRS." We need to vote all the garbage in Washington out of office (both democrat & republican trash).

Posted by tylenol6


We do not have a functioning government.

[randynason]

Grab your pitchforks and torches-
Storm the bastille! Viva the guillotine!

[stn_sage]

The CEO''''s of these failed banks are laughing their _sses off. They played the "suck and dump" game really well. Suck every dime they can out of the bank''''s carcass, and then dump it on the taxpayers. They should each face a firing squad

Posted by SistaTee at 09:03 PM : Jul 24, 2008
-----------------
My comments:

1. This ''game'' is exactly what they played!
2. The CEOs should be held responsible.
3. A firing squad would be ''letting them off the hook''! They need to be a living example! I''d suggest a life term in prison would be fair!

[stn_sage]

According to Ron Paul, also in the bill which most of the moron''''''''s in congress did NOT read was that "all credit card transactions will now be reported to the IRS." We need to vote all the garbage in Washington out of office (both democrat & republican trash).
Posted by tylenol6
-----------------
We do not have a functioning government.
Posted by l8c6 at 09:45 PM : Jul 24, 2008
-----------------
1. This probably won''t be the end of the bailout!
2. Elected officials ARE NOT doing their jobs correctly!
3. We do not have a functioning government---it''s in pieces on the floor in the outhouse!
4. YES,YES,YES! Most, if not all of our incumbents need to be replaced, they are FAILING us!

[shanev137]

It''s just now getting to the point to maybe think about buying a house in a year from now.