Existing home sales

[DavidS]

Existing home sales will be the first economic indicator of the week, coming from the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m. Eastern on Monday.
Economists expect existing home sales fell 2.5% to 3.47 million units in October.


Existing home sales have moved in a narrow range over the past year, in part because of sales of foreclosed homes. New home sales are expected to fall 4.8% to 411,000 units. But some analysts expect a bigger drop to lows not seen since 1982.

 

[editec]

We've got homeless families, we've got empty homes.

hmmmmm

 

[DavidS]

Existing home sales down more than expected - Nov. 24, 2008

Housing Market gets even weaker

 

[Zoom-boing]

We've got homeless families, we've got empty homes.

hmmmmm

Isn't this partially how we got into this mess to begin with? Providing homes/mortgages to people who could not afford them?

 

[DavidS]

Isn't this partially how we got into this mess to begin with? Providing homes/mortgages to people who could not afford them?

Well, we've been doing that for decades, but we've never had a problem like this before. There's something very different about the types of loans made in the past and the types of loans made in 2005-2007.

Companies like Bear Sterns and Lehman went KO because banks sold them those mortgages as securities and then Lehman sold those securities overseas.

We must find out what happened with the sub-prime loans issued between 2005-2007. Why did such a massively higher percentage of these sub-prime loans go bad vs. other sub-prime loans issued between 1995-1997 or any other two year period. If we don't find out what went wrong... we're going to be in big trouble.

 

[Care4all]

Isn't this partially how we got into this mess to begin with? Providing homes/mortgages to people who could not afford them?

NO....this is not how we got in the mess in the first place.

 

[Paulie]

NO....this is not how we got in the mess in the first place.

He asked if it was "partially" the reason.

And the answer to that is yes.

 

[editec]

Isn't this partially how we got into this mess to begin with? Providing homes/mortgages to people who could not afford them?

Yes, but once you cut the cake what's another piece?

We probably more than paid for them in full with the BANKERS' WELFARE package they just passed.

 

[Old Rocks]

OK, here's another take on the problem. The last few years that the subprime loans were being peddled, rentals had gone way up in the area that I live in. Since I was not watching them outside of Portland, Oregon, I cannot say that was the case elsewhere. But you could get a no down-payment loan for a house for a cheaper monthly payment than you could rent a much smaller place for. Not only that, they were actively telling people that with equity increase, they could borrow again when the ARM kicked in, and get a reasonable rate. Some people who got in on the early ARMs actually did this.

So we have a fellow that buys, because he gets more at a lesser monthly rate for a couple of years, and is assured that he can re-fi as the ARM kicks in. But, as the economy turns sour, he starts working less time, and his monthly income is now less, so he is less credit eligable. Or his company drops health care as a benefit, and someone in his family has a medical issue. There are a thousand differant scenerios, and each has one ending, default and foreclosure.

The declining income of the blue collar middleclass, the accelerating cost of medical care, and the dropping of insurance for many workers are all part of a toxic equation. And equation that is taking this nation down the drain.

 

[Zoomie1980]

Existing home sales will be the first economic indicator of the week, coming from the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m. Eastern on Monday.
Economists expect existing home sales fell 2.5% to 3.47 million units in October.


Existing home sales have moved in a narrow range over the past year, in part because of sales of foreclosed homes. New home sales are expected to fall 4.8% to 411,000 units. But some analysts expect a bigger drop to lows not seen since 1982.

None of this comes to an end until the housing market finds it's real bottom. The government and all of us would be best served for the gov't to simply get out of the way and let all of this find it's NATURAL bottom, because it's going to find that bottom at some time, anyway, regardless of what gov't does and and all gov't can do is draw it out. We've had one 700 billion dollar infusion that so far has had little to no real effect, another one to come that will likewise do little. Until the number of new good loans outnumbers the number of new bad loans it won't get better and that won't happen until national housing prices reach the point to where idle inventory ceases to grow.

 

[p kirkes]

I am just reporting what I see and hear. The natural gas (Hainsville Shale) boom in Caddo, Bossier, and Red River parishes has made many people very weathly and provided others with a big windfall. I almost got 5.7K for my mineral rights on my small city lot but, alas, the land companies are holding up cause they don't have enough rigs to drill into land the've already leased. But they will be back.

The folks that did get the big bonus checks are spending that money on new Corvettes, homes, boats and other capital items. Not much talk of saving or investing.

Housing starts are still strong all over the parish. Existing home sales don't seem to be lagging much, if at all, down here. Homes on my block are selling almost as fast as the sign goes up in the lawn.

How do I know? Because I patrol all the housing districts several times a month (for the past l5 months with the Sheriff's Office and I can see the changes. Many 400+K homes going up as well as new "starter" homes 1700 sq ft.

I also try and keep tabs on "for sale" signs in these housing districts. Nothing unusual except for one district when almost the whole block had a "For Sale" sign in the lawn. But I guess they all sold or were taken off the market cause all the signs are gone.

New Elementary, Middle and High schools have been constructed this past couple of years. Traffic is still jamming the streets to and from these housing districts so I'm thinking people are still working.

 

[Care4all]

He asked if it was "partially" the reason.

And the answer to that is yes.

ahhhhhhhhh, ''partially'' MY BAD!!!

 

[editec]

None of this comes to an end until the housing market finds it's real bottom. The government and all of us would be best served for the gov't to simply get out of the way and let all of this find it's NATURAL bottom, because it's going to find that bottom at some time, anyway, regardless of what gov't does and and all gov't can do is draw it out. We've had one 700 billion dollar infusion that so far has had little to no real effect, another one to come that will likewise do little. Until the number of new good loans outnumbers the number of new bad loans it won't get better and that won't happen until national housing prices reach the point to where idle inventory ceases to grow.

Had they used that money to help the people DIRECTLY, instead of giving the money to the banks, then we'd be enjoying TRICKLE UP economy, instead of this moribund economy which continues getting worse.

We should have let the banks fail, and saved the people.

Now the banks have the money but they won't lend it out because why?

Derivatives that other banks are holding make then fearful to lend even to other banks!

And why do they even own these derivatibves?

Because we did not regulate those banks such that they were not allowed to play that crapshoot, that's why.