Home, Retail Sales Keep Sliding

And there's no bottom in sight

(NEWSER) - The housing industry keeps finding new lows: Today's Case-Shiller price index shows that prices fell in the first quarter to the lowest levels since the crash began, reports the Wall Street Journal . The drop of 4.2%, on top of last quarter's 3.6% drop, is evidence of a "double dip in home prices across much of the nation," says an S&P official. The percentage of homeowners, meanwhile, has fallen to 66.4%, on par with levels in 1998, reports the New York Times . That's down from 69.2% in 2004. More»

Media sales price hits lowest level in almost 9 years

(AP) - Fewer Americans bought previously occupied homes last month, and those who did purchased them at steep discounts. The weak sales and rise in foreclosures pushed home prices down to their lowest level in nearly 9 years. Sales of previously occupied homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million, said a Realtors' group; that's down 9.6% from 5.4 million in January. More»

False incentives will hurt us in the long run

(NEWSER) - In case you missed it, be advised that home sales have fallen off a cliff. This week's grim numbers will no doubt raise the call for the Obama administration to reach into its bag of tricks (bring back that tax credit, maybe?) to encourage people to buy and thus keep prices from falling further. Here's hoping the government does no such thing, writes Tom Petruno in the Los Angeles Times . More»

Recession isn't over as far as consumers are concerned

(NEWSER) - If the recession is indeed waning, nobody told consumers. Retailers of every kind reported lousy sales for the quarter ended Aug. 1, the Wall Street Journal reports. Target’s same-store sales fell 6.2%, Home Depot’s dropped 9.1% and Saks’ plummeted a whopping 15.5%. And with unemployment, stagnant wages, and tight credit squeezing shoppers, executives don’t expect to see improvement until next spring. More»

(NEWSER) - A decrease in vacant housing inventory and an uptick in sales have home builders ramping up construction for the first time in months, Time reports. Currently, the number of new homes on the market would take an estimated 8.8 months to sell—a far cry from the standard of 4 to 6 months, but a vast improvement over January, when the benchmark stood at 12.4 months. More»