WP: Home sales plunge 27 pct. to lowest in 15 years

[SkinsHokieFan]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/24/AR2010082402563.html?hpid=topnews

WASHINGTON -- Sales of previously occupied homes fell to the lowest level in 15 years last month as the economy weakened.

The National Association of Realtors says July's sales fell by more than 27 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million. It was the largest monthly drop on records dating back to 1968. June's sales pace was revised downward to 5.26 million.

Home sales picked up in the spring when the government was offering tax credits. But the market has struggled since the tax credits expired on April 30.

It would take 12.5 months to sell off the 4 million unsold homes on the market at the current sales pace. The median sale price was $182,600, up 0.7 percent from a year ago.

[Skinz4Life12]

is this just in the dc/metro area or nation wide?

[SkinsHokieFan]

is this just in the dc/metro area or nation wide?

This is nation wide. DC there simply isn't much of an inventory of single family homes right now

[TD_washingtonredskins]

This is nation wide. DC there simply isn't much of an inventory of single family homes right now

Someone can take mine for $1M.

[Skinz4Life12]

i know the country has been effected severly as a whole, but how much do these numbers really reflect our area in DC/NOVA/MD?

[zoony]

So sales are down, but prices are up.

I think we're still about 2 years away. And I think the "12.5 months" number doesn't tell the entire story. We all know people out there looking at foreclosed homes and coming away saying "no ****ing chance in hell I'm buying that piece of ****"

Housing inventories are at their lowest level in 42 years, iirc. We have several friends looking to buy right now and there is not a whole lot out there outside of foreclosures.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

What does it mean when you guys say "housing inventories."

[mardi gras skin]

There are a ton of houses for sale in our area. Some streets have a for sale sign posted on every third lawn. These are both town homes and single family home areas.

[endzone_dave]

So sales are down, but prices are up.

I think we're still about 2 years away. And I think the "12.5 months" number doesn't tell the entire story. We all know people out there looking at foreclosed homes and coming away saying "no ****ing chance in hell I'm buying that piece of ****"

Housing inventories are at their lowest level in 42 years, iirc. We have several friends looking to buy right now and there is not a whole lot out there outside of foreclosures.

I read somewhere that banks are holding on to foreclosure homes. The author thought this was a bad idea and when the banks do decide to put those homes into the market, it's going to make things even worse. It was a pretty depressing article.

[KingGibbs]

So sales are down, but prices are up.

I think we're still about 2 years away. And I think the "12.5 months" number doesn't tell the entire story. We all know people out there looking at foreclosed homes and coming away saying "no ****ing chance in hell I'm buying that piece of ****"

Housing inventories are at their lowest level in 42 years, iirc. We have several friends looking to buy right now and there is not a whole lot out there outside of foreclosures.

Zoon. My mother, step father, brother and myself have ventured into buying foreclosures and flipping them. The first house was one of those "no ****ing way" houses because it was a mess. It took us months to gut just about everything and replace just about everything. The only thing we outsourced was drywall and concrete. The house was only on the market for three months (last summer) and we made a very sizeable profit.

The problem with Americans is they are lazy. If you are willing to get your hands dirty and sweat a little you can find a steal whether it's an investment property or you are looking to buy.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

The problem with Americans is they are lazy. If you are willing to get your hands dirty and sweat a little you can find a steal whether it's an investment property or you are looking to buy.

Combine that with "everyone thinks they are hard working and getting screwed by an unfair government."

[Hubbs]

Hmmm.

So mortgage rates are at all-time lows, yet hardly anyone is buying.

You know what we need? Another program to push prices higher. Kind of like how McDonald's raises prices if it wants to sell more hamburgers, and GM ends sales if they want to sell more cars. This supply/demand thing is really easy.

[Hubbs]

I read somewhere that banks are holding on to foreclosure homes. The author thought this was a bad idea and when the banks do decide to put those homes into the market, it's going to make things even worse. It was a pretty depressing article.

That's very accurate, and an enormous problem.

[zoony]

Hmmm.

So mortgage rates are at all-time lows, yet hardly anyone is buying.

That tells little of the story. Down payments and qualifications are at all time prohibitive levels

[Thiebear]

I made an offer on a foreclosed house (I never learn).

And i didn't even get a reply after two attempts. (suntrust)

It was listed in 2008 and is looking horrible.

I have fantastic credit and the severance package from getting fired needs to go to good use.

[Hubbs]

That tells little of the story. Down payments and qualifications are at all time prohibitive levels

All-time prohibitive?

You're off your rocker on this one. Down payments and qualifications are being pushed back to normal levels. After years of nothing-down "liar loans," a spike in down payments is inevitable as the math necessary for responsible lending reasserts itself.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

I made an offer on a foreclosed house (I never learn).

And i didn't even get a reply after two attempts. (suntrust)

It was listed in 2008 and is looking horrible.

I have fantastic credit and the severance package from getting fired needs to go to good use.

Was it a foreclosure or a short sale?

[Thiebear]

Was it a foreclosure or a short sale?

Definite foreclosure.

[deejaydana]

I've been watching the local market out west where I live like a hawk and it's still far from healthy. The local rag city newspaper lists all the public notices of default and it's like 6 to 8 pages and is hitting every area of the city I live in. It's obvious, but until the labor market turns around we won't have a normal housing market.

[zoony]

All-time prohibitive?

You're off your rocker on this one. Down payments and qualifications are being pushed back to normal levels. After years of nothing-down "liar loans," a spike in down payments is inevitable as the math necessary for responsible lending reasserts itself.

I had to type quickly there, shouldn't have put all-time.

But, you get my point. Clearly.

[MKnight82]

I made an offer on a foreclosed house (I never learn).

And i didn't even get a reply after two attempts. (suntrust)

It was listed in 2008 and is looking horrible.

I have fantastic credit and the severance package from getting fired needs to go to good use.

Do you have another job yet? You're going to have a difficult time getting financing without a job.

[McD5]

Obama has to be sweating. Had he given money to the people--directly to the group that needed it instead of to the banks, we wouldn't be having these problems.

[Hubbs]

I had to type quickly there, shouldn't have put all-time.

But, you get my point. Clearly.

I get your point, but I disagree with the conclusion. You think that down payments and qualifications are somehow "wrong" right now. My contention is that the only way they could be wrong is if they're still not strict enough. What was "wrong" was an entire financing structure that depended on the perpetually increasing demand created by lowering qualifications a little bit more, then a little bit more, then a little bit more. Such a structure is the only mathematically possible way to create more homeownership while real prices rise faster than real wages.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Obama has to be sweating. Had he given money to the people--directly to the group that needed it instead of to the banks, we wouldn't be having these problems.

You mean like a tax credit for home buyers?

[Hubbs]

You mean like a tax credit for home buyers?

No, like a tax credit for car buyers.