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May 17, 2008 1:21:14 AM CDT

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March Home Sales, Prices Fall  

Posted Apr 22, 08 10:02 AM CDT in Business    Most Covered

(newser) – Prices on existing homes fell in March, but buyers stayed away, either unable to get loans, or betting on yet bigger drops, Bloomberg reports. Sales dropped 2%, to an annual rate of 4.93 million, as the median price fell to $200,700 from $217,400 last year. The number of available homes meanwhile swelled by 40,000, exacerbating supply problems.

"There still is an imbalance in the existing housing market that needs to be corrected through lower inventories and higher sales," said one Lehman Brothers economist. "As long as the housing market remains weak we think the economy will remain weak as well."

Source Bloomberg

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March Home Sales, Prices Fall
Home for sale signs line a street of a new subdivision in Cascade Locks, Ore., Wednesday, April 9, 2008.   (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
March Home Sales, Prices Fall
A sign noting a reduction in price tops the sale placard outside an existing home on the market in south Denver in this Feb. 17, 2008 file photo.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)
March Home Sales, Prices Fall
A house for sale at a reduced price is seen in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Home prices in many cities continued to plunge by record levels in January as sellers cut their asking bids and rising...   (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
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