Sales Plummet, Biggest inventory of unsold homes since 81, Buyers vanish from the market

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/business/24econ-web.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Sales fell in every region of the country, with the Northeast suffering the steepest drop, 19.4 percent.

Prices continue to fall as well, which could discourage would-be buyers from entering the market. The median price of a new home dropped in March to $227,600, down 13.3 percent from a year ago. That drop followed price declines of 2.6 percent in February and 8.5 percent in January.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2338709320080424

New home sales fall steeply
Thu Apr 24, 2008 10:28am

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New single-family U.S. home sales fell by an unexpectedly steep 8.5 percent in March and the median sales prices versus a year ago dropped by the largest amount since 1970, a government report on Thursday showed.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. And to think a year ago, there were bidding wars over homes.

A house would go on the market and the first bid could come in within an hour of its listing.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. That was about two years ago.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Point taken.

[dysfunctional press]

4. not quite...

we put our chicago 2-flat on the market in feb. 07, and it took until august to sell at 12% below asking price.
we were a year or two late getting it for sale.

[Warpy]

5. Places started to stay on the market for months here

in NM starting in May, 2006, at least in trophy house neighborhoods. Houses in my own area, an old, inner city area of post WWII tract houses, are still selling within weeks.

The bottom fell out of the market in Florida in late 2005, but nobody seemed to notice until March, 2006, just a couple of weeks after I'd sold my dad's house there for 10% under comps. The other houses that were for sale then are still for sale now, and my dad's house is now listed at 20% less than I got for it.

The housing market is dying just the way it did in the Reagan years. Then it was interest rates. Now it's a combination of insane pricing, tightened lending practices, and the fact that we've got too much of the wrong type of housing, the yuppie trophy house, and not enough affordable housing for ordinary families.

[DemocratInSoCal]

6. The Stock Market Loves It

We live in one FUCKED UP COUNTRY.

When the end comes, it isn't going to be pretty.

[Prefer]

7. FASHION - Turn to the left!

FASHION - Turn to the right!
Oooooooooo FASHION