U.S. home prices fell 10.7 percent in January, and the Standard &
Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 cities saw the steepest
decline in the index’s two-decade history…Pava Leyrer, president of Heritage National Mortgage in Detroit, said
the tightening of loan standards has compounded the problems of too
much inventory, foreclosures and worries over the economy…A narrower survey, released separately Tuesday by the Federal Housing
Enterprise Oversight said home prices fell 3 percent in January from
the same month last year, and dipped 1.1 percent from December. The
declines were sharpest in New England…Many sellers in some parts of the country seem to be cutting prices
more aggressively. While sales of existing homes notched a surprise
increase in February after falling for six straight months, the median
price fell, according to data Monday from the National Association of
Realtors.
See also:
AP: “New Home Sales Fall to a 13-Year Low, Underscoring Housing’s Steep Slump; Factory Orders Fall” (3/26/08)
The number of unsold homes on the market at the end of the month
represented a 9.8 months’ supply at the February sales pace, the same
as in January. That was the highest inventory level in more than 26
years and reflects the fact that increased numbers of mortgage
foreclosures are dumping even more homes on an already glutted market.
Sales dropped the most in the Northeast, falling by 40.6 percent…
The Republican: “February homes sales reported down 26%” (3/25/08)
Sales of single-family homes in the Pioneer Valley fell 26 percent in February compared to February 2007…
The Realtor Association of the Pioneer Valley said Hampden County sales dropped 32.8 percent while the median price climbed 4 percent. In Franklin County, sales dropped 28.5 percent while the median price dropped 8.5 percent. In Hampshire County, sales rose 12 percent but the median price fell 18 percent…
AP: “Consumer Confidence Drops to 5-Year Low in March on Pessimism About Jobs, Income” (3/25/08)
The Conference Board, a business-backed research group, said Tuesday
that its Consumer Confidence Index plunged to 64.5 in March from a
revised 76.4 in February…
The Consumer Confidence Index has been weakening since July, and is
watched because lower consumer confidence tends to result in lower
consumer buying, which is a drag on the economy…
The present situation index, which looks at current conditions, slumped
to 89.2 in March from 104.0 the month before. The expectations index,
which looks ahead, dropped to a 35-year low of 47.9 in March from 58.0
in February…
Woes in Condo Market Build As New Supply Floods Cities: Wall Street Journal (3/22/08)
The condominium market is about to get worse as many cities brace for a
flood of new supply this year — the result of construction started at
the height of the housing boom…
The deluge means bad news for developers and potentially lower prices…
The deteriorating economy isn’t helping. “When the world goes to hell
in a handbasket, the last thing anyone wants to buy is a condo,” says
Cathy Schlegel, a mortgage-loan broker in Fort Worth, Texas…
Gazette: “Contractors assess extent of slowdown, as some projects lag” (2/18/08)
For
the first time in recent memory, Northampton city planners do not
expect to have a permit application for a residential or commercial
project before them, when they meet later this month.