Probably no one who has read a paper or a website
in the last 60 days expected anything different,
but the monthly report from the National
Association of Realtors (NAR) on Tuesday confirmed
that once again the sales of existing
homes fell in August.
Total existing home sales which include single
family homes, town homes, condos, and co-ops
dropped 4.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 5.5 million units in August. Sales
in July totaled 5.75 million and in August 2006
the total was 6.31 million. Thus the August sales
were down 12.8 percent from one year ago.
Lawrence Yun, NAR senior
economist, was certainly not shocked. In his
comments accompanying the August report he said,
"The unusual disruptions in the mortgage
market, including a significant rise in jumbo loan
rates, resulted in a fairly high number of
postponed or cancelled sales, with many buyers
having to search for other financing when loan
commitments fell through. Lower sales contributed
to a buildup of unsold inventory."
Yun said he expects similar results for home sales
in September. "Once we get through these
disruptions, we'll get a better sense of where the
actual market is in late fall as conditions begin
to normalize," he said.
The inventory of existing homes was up 0.4 percent
at the end of last month. 4.58 million previously
owned homes are now for sale which, at the current
rate of attrition represents a 10 month supply. In
July the inventory was estimated to take 9.5
months to be absorbed.
Existing home prices actually went up a smidgen.
In August 2006 the median home price was $224,000.
Last month it was 224,500.
Single family home sales fared better than other
unit sales, falling 3.8 percent to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million compared to 5
million a month ago. This is still a drop of 13
percent from one year earlier. The median price of
a single family home was virtually unchanged from
that of one year ago at $223,900.
Condos and co-op sales dropped harder;
falling 8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 690,000 units in August compared to
750,000 in July. This is an 11.7 percent decrease
from the 781,000 units sold in August 2006. Prices
of condos and co-ops, however, were up 2.1 percent
year-over-year at 228,500.
Existing-home sales in the Northeast were down 2.0
percent in August to 1 million which is 5.7
percent below a year ago. The median price in that
region was $282,300, 3.6 percent higher than one
year earlier.
Sales in the South fell 2.7 percent to 2.20
million in August; 12.7 percent lower than August
2006. The median existing-home price in the South
was $183,500, down 0.7 percent from a year ago.
The Midwest saw sales of 1.28 million units in
August, 5.2 percent fewer units than in July and
10.5 percent below August 2006. The median price
in the Midwest was $177,100, up 3.1 percent from
August 2006.
Existing-home sales in the West dropped 9.8
percent in August to 1.01 million, and
are 21.7 percent below August 2006. The median
price in the West was $332,300, which is 3.8
percent below a year ago.
The Census Department is due to issue its monthly
report on new home sales on
Thursday.
Information courtesy of Mortgage News Daily The purpose of this
newsletter is not to give advice. The purpose is
to stimulate thought for our clients and
professionals within our network.If you are a professional receiving this
newsletter or know of one, please contact our
office to introduce yourself and your services to
us. We are always seeking to grow our referral
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client base.The loan professional that has made this
information available specializes in equity
repositioning solutions for those buying, selling
or refinancing real estate.
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