Home Sales Up 5.5%, Biggest Gain in 5 Years

Everyone was really surprised

(NEWSER) - The housing market had another staggering setback in November, with sales of new and existing homes tumbling while prices took their biggest hit on record, the Wall Street Journal reports. Existing-home sales fell a worse-than-expected 8.6%, while the national median price fell 13.2% to $181,300, the steepest slide since record-keeping began in 1968 and probably since the Great Depression, according to the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist. More»

Median US price was $175,400 in December, off 15.3%

(NEWSER) - US home prices took an unprecedented dive in December, Bloomberg reports, with prices of existing units dropping 15.3% over the same month last year—the biggest drop on record, and probably the biggest since the Great Depression. Sales, however, unexpectedly ticked up 6.5% in December, the National Association of Realtors announced. “I don’t think it’s a clear sign of a revival in the housing market,” one analyst said. More»

Largest drop since records began in 1968

(AP) - Sales of previously occupied US 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% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million. It is the largest monthly drop noted since recording began in 1968. June's sales pace was revised downward to 5.26 million. More»

(NEWSER) - Pending sales of existing US homes soared in April, posting their largest jump since October 2001. Combined with a 3.2% jump in March, the 6.7% increase in April—far more than the forecast 0.5%—suggests a longer-term upward trend, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dipping prices, low interest rates, and the first-time homebuyer tax credit helped account for the increase, analysts said. More»

(NEWSER) - Previously owned home sales took a 5.1% leap in February, to an annual rate of 4.72 million, Bloomberg reports, as a median price down 15.5% year-over-year brought out the bargain hunters. That blindsided analysts, who had expected sales to fall to a 4.45 million annual rate. “The decline in home prices… has increased affordability,” wrote one. ““However, rising unemployment, depressed confidence, and expectations of home-price depreciation serve as powerful offsets.” More»