Existing-Home Sales Hurt by Economic Turmoil

With Consumer Confidence falling amid Economic uncertainty, Existing-Home Sales fell again Nationwide in November, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-Home Sales fell 8.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.49 million units in November, which puts us 10.6 % below the 5.02 million-unit pace in November 2007. Regionally, in the Northeast Existing-Home Sales declined by 12% to an annual pace of 730,000 in November; putting the region 18% below last years numbers.

The silver lining in the numbers may be that Existing-Home Sales are rising in hard hit areas of California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, “Sales are rising only in areas with large numbers of distressed properties as bargain hunters take advantage of discounted home prices." While this is a positive sign, Mr. Yun cautions that “It is, therefore, imperative to provide incentives for homebuyers to get back into the market. It also depends on how effectively Congress and the new administration can help facilitate the short sales process and unclog the mortgage pipeline – impediments remain for some buyers with good credit,” to help the housing market recover.