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Home Sales, Prices Sink Again

Would-be buyers get comfy, waiting for better deals

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 25, 2008 10:05 AM CST
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(Newser) – Existing-home sales and home prices continued to fall in January, indicating that would-be buyers are waiting for the market to bottom out, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Inventories are high, so it's not surprising prices are declining," said one economist, who described home sales as "soft but fairly stable." The resale number actually beat economists' projections.

New, tighter standards on loans are making purchasing a home a bigger obstacle for borrowers, the Journal reports. "Subprime loan and other risky mortgage products have virtually disappeared from the marketplace, and over the past five months, this has been reflected in soft but fairly stable home sales," said the economist.

A price reduction sign tops the placard for an existing home on the market in south Denver on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. Sales of existing homes fell to the lowest level in nearly a decade in January while the median price for a home dropped for the fifth straight month....
A price reduction sign tops the placard for an existing home on the market in south Denver on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. Sales of existing homes fell to the lowest level in nearly a decade in January while...   (Associated Press)
A sign noting a reduction in price tops the sale placard outside an existing home on the market in south Denver on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. Sales of existing homes fell to the lowest level in nearly a decade in January while the median price for a home dropped for...
A sign noting a reduction in price tops the sale placard outside an existing home on the market in south Denver on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. Sales of existing homes fell to the lowest level in nearly a decade...   (Associated Press)
A property is offered for sale at reduced price Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A property is offered for sale at reduced price Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)   (Associated Press)
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COMMENTS
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A more optimistic take on the same figures
MarketWatch

More on the possible upshot of this
Bloomberg

Sales still beat dismal expectations, though
CNN

 
home loans • home prices • existing home sales

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