US home sales fall to 12-year low
It ain't getting better,
soon.
Sales of new homes plunged to a 12-year low in November…the
slowest pace since April 1995.
New-home purchases are down 34.4 percent from a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year drop since January 1991. That leaves a large, if shrinking, inventory of unsold homes to be worked off before the glut can be dissipated…
Even as new homes become more affordable, the Friday report from the Commerce Department underscores the challenges facing the residential construction industry as tighter credit and the fear of further declines in values continue to shrink the pool of potential buyers. Rising foreclosures and a wave of cancellations have crippled the nation’s biggest home builders and sent their stock prices into a steep decline…
The current decline is the steepest peak-to-trough drop since the 1982 housing bust, said Michael T. Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners, and it could grow steeper if sales continue to flag.
The article hunts for the odd bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Whistling in the dark - and no dawn in sight.
The politicians and corporations in charge of these United States - if you see any real differentiation - only think of homes as a commodity to be treated like any other. So, don’t expect a boatload of concern from either quarter.
New-home purchases are down 34.4 percent from a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year drop since January 1991. That leaves a large, if shrinking, inventory of unsold homes to be worked off before the glut can be dissipated…
Even as new homes become more affordable, the Friday report from the Commerce Department underscores the challenges facing the residential construction industry as tighter credit and the fear of further declines in values continue to shrink the pool of potential buyers. Rising foreclosures and a wave of cancellations have crippled the nation’s biggest home builders and sent their stock prices into a steep decline…
The current decline is the steepest peak-to-trough drop since the 1982 housing bust, said Michael T. Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners, and it could grow steeper if sales continue to flag.
The article hunts for the odd bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Whistling in the dark - and no dawn in sight.
The politicians and corporations in charge of these United States - if you see any real differentiation - only think of homes as a commodity to be treated like any other. So, don’t expect a boatload of concern from either quarter.
Posted: Sun - December 30, 2007 at 05:25 AM