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Home, Retail Sales Keep Sliding
 Home, Retail Sales Keep Sliding 

Home, Retail Sales Keep Sliding

Retail decline due mainly to big autos drop; foreclosures depressing housing values

(Newser) - The housing market continued to plunge in the first quarter of 2008, as single-family sales dropped 22% from their year-ago pace, to 4.95 million annually. Bloomberg reports that the median home price is off 7.7% from a year ago, to $196,300, as foreclosed properties drag down values....

Down in Polls, Brown Admits 'Mistakes'

Ahead of UK local voting, PM confesses tax missteps

(Newser) - With polls predicting big losses for his Labour party in tomorrow’s local elections, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted he’d made mistakes in the past six months, Reuters reports. Chiefly, Brown acknowledged increasing the tax burden on the lowest-paid workers and those aged 60-64, but said both problems...

Home Prices Take Record Dive
 Home Prices Take Record Dive 
Economy

Home Prices Take Record Dive

Key index drops 12.7%; consumer confidence plummets

(Newser) - A key measure of home prices fell fell 12.7% in February, the biggest decline in its 7 years of existence, and consumer confidence measured this month hit a 5-year low, Bloomberg reports. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index reflects the crush of foreclosures and resultant tightening of lending standards....

New-Home Sales Hit Lowest Level Since '91
 New-Home Sales Hit
 Lowest Level Since '91 
Economy

New-Home Sales Hit Lowest Level Since '91

8.5% drop much worse than expected; supply hits 27-year high

(Newser) - New-home sales fell yet again in March, the Wall Street Journal reports, with single-family sales off 8.5% to an annual rate of 526,000, the lowest level since 1991. Analysts had expected a drop of only 1.9%. The median price, meanwhile, plummeted 13.3%, to $227,600. With...

March Home Sales, Prices Fall
 March Home Sales, Prices Fall 
Economy

March Home Sales, Prices Fall

Buyers can't get loans, or are awaiting bigger price drops

(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...

Real Estate Slump Strikes Manhattan

Average apartment price soars to record; big picture grim

(Newser) - Manhattan real estate prices hit record highs in the first quarter of 2008, but sales declined, showing that the housing crunch is starting to affect the island, Bloomberg reports. The average price of a Manhattan apartment was $1.7 million, up 33.5% from last year, the New York Times ...

Home Prices, Consumer Confidence Nosedive

Housing trouble worsens as recession worries mount

(Newser) - Home prices plummeted again in January, falling a record 10.7% compared to January 2007, according to the bellwether S&P Case/Shiller Hope Price composite. The March consumer confidence index, also out today, plunged to a 5-year low in yet another indication of recession, Bloomberg reports. The Conference Board measures...

Surprise! Existing Home Sales Jump

February's 2.9% rise surprises analysts; median price tumbles unprecedented 8.2%

(Newser) - Existing home sales stunned Wall Street today with an unexpected spike, Bloomberg reports. The metric rose 2.9% in February to an annual pace of 5.03 million. Analysts had predicted yet another decline, to a 4.85 million pace. But one economist said this was only a “temporary...

Sinking Home Values Lead to 'Walkaways'

Owners grappling with negative equity can afford to pay but choose not to

(Newser) - Freefalling home values may be creating yet another crisis in the mortgage industry. The new phenomenon: homeowners capable of paying their mortgages who walk away, unwilling to pour money into a property that’s worth less than they originally paid. "It may not be a big thing yet, and...

Home Prices Decline Across Country
Home Prices Decline Across Country

Home Prices Decline Across Country

8.9% declines posted for fourth quarter in 10 biggest markets

(Newser) - Home prices in the top 10 metro areas slumped 8.9% over the previous year, the largest decline in 20 years, according to the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller price index, released today. "Wherever you look things look bleak," one economist tells the Wall Street Journal, noting that declines...

Home Sales, Prices Sink Again
Home Sales, Prices Sink Again

Home Sales, Prices Sink Again

Would-be buyers get comfy, waiting for better deals

(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...

Best Places for Home Bargains
Best Places for Home Bargains

Best Places for Home Bargains

Plenty of opportunity exists for money-minded buyers, Forbes says

(Newser) - Certain housing markets are better than others for bargain-hunters, Forbes reports, and they're generally the ones with a glut of homes, strong job growth, and a low rate of foreclosures. Forbes rattles off its top 10:
  1. Salt Lake City: highest job growth in the country, and low foreclosure
  2. Raleigh, NC:
...

Negative Equity Adds Another Crippling Factor

Forbes examines pitfalls of having a loan worth more than home

(Newser) - Foreclosure is scary enough, especially at its current pace—79% more US homes foreclosed in 2007 than the year before. But, Forbes writes, the housing crisis is dumping an even scarier problem on mortgage holders around the country: negative equity, in which a mortgage is worth more than the house...

Consumer, Housing Numbers Slump
Consumer, Housing Numbers Slump

Consumer, Housing Numbers Slump

News isn't all gloomy: Demand for durable goods surges

(Newser) - Consumer confidence fell a bit less than expected but still approached a 2-year nadir in January, reinforcing fears that Americans will put the brakes on personal spending. In other economic reports out today, the S&P/Case-Shiller housing-price index report showed a 7.7% year-over-year drop for November, Bloomberg reports, and...

Given Rent Prices, Homes Still Too High

Expect another 15% drop if historical relationship holds

(Newser) - If rent prices are any indication, home prices aren’t done falling, according to one former and two current Federal Reserve economists. Annual rents have historically held steady at about 5% of home prices, but since 1996 home prices have left rents in the dust, the Wall Street Journal explains....

Home Prices Suffer Record Monthly Drop

October figures exceed gloomy estimates, show continued slump

(Newser) - Home prices plummeted 6.1% in October, a record year-over-year drop that exceeded forecasts. The index of prices in 20 major markets has dropped every month this year and fell 1.4% from the September figure, another record. The trend threatens overall consumer spending, making it more difficult for homeowners...

Home Sales Hit Record Low Despite Dropping Prices

Sales of existing properties down 20.7% over last year

(Newser) - Existing-home sales fell for the eighth consecutive month in October, hitting record lows in a survey of realtors. Resales dropped to an annual rate of 4.97 million, down 1.2% from September, despite a huge 5.1% drop in median price. “Price declines are part of the healing...

Home Prices Suffer Record Quarterly Drop

Housing market's woes worsen across the country

(Newser) - The housing slump deepened in September as home prices plummeted, posting a record 4.5% decline from third quarter 2006 to third quarter 2007, Marketwatch reports. The 1.7% decline from the second to the third quarter was also a record in the 21 years the bellwether index has been...

New LA Buildings Going Green
New LA Buildings
Going Green

New LA Buildings Going Green

Planners pass tough new rules that critics grouse will boost prices

(Newser) - The Los Angeles Planning Commission has approved an ambitious package of rules that would require new buildings to cut energy use by 15%. Measures include wiring buildings for solar energy, installing water-saving appliances, and using recycled materials in construction, the Los Angeles Times reports. The regulations would reduce energy use...

Consumer Confidence Falls to Post-Katrina Levels

Housing slump deepens, cranking up pressure on Fed

(Newser) - Consumer confidence plummeted in September to its lowest reading since October 2005, fueling worries that housing’s downturn could affect consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of the economy. Home prices, meanwhile, suffered their biggest drop in at least 6 years. “There is really no positive news in today's...

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