WASHINGTON, July 24, 2008
Home Sales Plummet In June
2.6 Percent Drop Double What Was Expected, Fueling Worst Slump In 20 Years
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(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
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Video Feds Press For Housing Bill Fed chief Ben Bernanke called upon Congress to pass a housing bill that would help struggling homeowners and rescue ailing mortgage lenders. Anthony Mason reports.
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News Tools Foreclosure Rates A state-by-state look at foreclosure rates, which were up 81 percent nationwide in 2008.
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.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 38 CommentsPosted by tylenol6
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We do not have a functioning government.
Posted by l8c6 at 09:45 PM : Jul 24, 2008
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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!
Posted by SistaTee at 09:03 PM : Jul 24, 2008
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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!
Storm the bastille! Viva the guillotine!
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.
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.
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?
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!
Posted by mbcsmith
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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...)
Posted by mbcsmith
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What''s the national debt right now?
Posted by mbcsmith
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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.
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 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.
Posted by nojoy01 at 02:02 PM : Jul 24, 2008
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.
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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?
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