Sales of new homes hit slowest pace on record

[Dr.Phool]

Source: MSNBC.com


Sales of new homes hit slowest pace on record
Unexpected 12.4 percent drop in July latest sign recovery is fading


A sign indicating a new home is available for sale in Miami, Fla. Sales of new homes dropped last month to the slowest pace on record, the latest sign that the economic recovery is fading.
By ALAN ZIBEL
updated 13 minutes ago


BREAKING NEWS


WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes dropped sharply last month to the slowest pace on record, the latest sign that the economic recovery is fading.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home sales fell 12.4 percent in July from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 276,600. That was the slowest pace on records dating back to 1963. The past three months have been the worst on record for new home sales.

The weak housing numbers worried Wall Street, dragging the Dow Jones industrial average below 10,000 for a second day.

Weak home sales mean fewer jobs in the construction industry, which normally powers economic recoveries. Each new home built creates, on average, the equivalent of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

(snip) more

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38847695/ns/business-real_estate/

[Imajika]

1. Recovery summer was a bust...

We'll need a more clever code name for the Fall. Maybe operation "Autumn Optimism".

[mike r]

2. New home sales hit lowest level ever

Source: Washington Post

Sales of newly built homes dropped to their lowest level since the government started tracking the numbers more than four decades ago, with demand for home purchases down in all four regions of the country.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new homes sold in July at an annual rate of 276,000, down 12.4 percent from June and down 32.4 percent compared with the same time last year.

Housing experts attribute the weak results to the expiration of a federal tax credit April 30. They said the program probably lured people into buying homes earlier than they had planned, thereby eating into future sales.

But many economists say July's dismal results, which add to grim sales data released Tuesday on existing homes, suggest that the problems go beyond the tax credit. "There's clearly something more at play here," said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities. "The economy is backsliding a little bit. While it's too soon to tell if that's going to result in another recession, it seems clear that consumers are holding back on committing to major purchases, such as buying a home."...

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/25/AR2010082503232.html

[closeupready]

3. Thank GOD it passed!

:woohoo: :sarcasm:

[CountAllVotes]

4. spending as little as possible here

might spend more IF the interest rates were higher and I could get something beyond .35% on my savings account!

And they wonder why people aren't spending? :dunce:

:kick:

[neverforget]

5. "There's clearly something more at play here"

I don't know if I'm going to have a job January 1. How many other people are worried about their jobs while the millions of unemployed can't find work? Ya think that's "something more at play here"? We need jobs.

[OhioChick]

6. You're onto something there

Are we the only ones who see it? (JOBS)

[Dr.Phool]

7. Jobs?

What's a job? I thought they were extinct.

[OhioChick]

8. You think it's bad now.....just wait.

See this? I remember you said that you used to live here...

Ohio home sales drop 35 pct. from June to July

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9012579

[alstephenson]

9. The real question is: why the hell are they still building new homes...

When the existing stock of housing is so huge?

[bemildred]

10. Stupidity? nt

[dgibby]

11. Good question.

Approx. 60 new homes are being built on a small parcle of land at the end of my street. In the meantime, 12 houses were listed for sale on this same street for the better part of a year, and there are still 6 houses for sale. That doesn't even begin to count the rest of the houses on the market in the rest of the subdivision.

[Lightning Count]

12. Because even though demand is lower, there still is a demand.

People are stupid/selfish. Everyone seems to want a new house these days. Regulations need to be put in place that tie the amount of available existing homes to the permits to build new homes.

[ProudDad]

13. End-Stage capitalism

We're running out of resources, folks.

Get used to it and get ready for the powerdown...

www.transitionus.org