NAR Report
The U.S. Census Bureau and Housing and Urban Development Department on Wednesday released new-home sales statistics, which reveal that the slowing in housing sales inflated the supply of for-sale housing in January to its highest level since 1981.
Sales of new single-family homes fell to the lowest adjusted annual rate in about 13 years in January. And new homes spent a median 6.7 months on the market in January, which was the lengthiest time on market since May 1992, when the agencies reported a median 7.1 months on market.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors has reported that the median price of single-family resale homes dropped 5.1 percent in January compared to the same month last year, with total sales for all resale home types dropping 23.4 percent.
U.S. foreclosure activity in January, as measured by the volume of total foreclosure filings, rose about 57 percent compared to January 2007, real estate data company RealtyTrac reported. And NAHB reported earlier this month that median-priced homes in about half of the 220 U.S. metro areas included in a housing affordability index study were unaffordable to median-income households during fourth-quarter 2007.
The U.S. home-ownership rate fell during the fourth quarter to 67.7 percent, which continues a slide that started in third-quarter 2004, and the wave of mortgage foreclosures that is a contributor to that decline "are sure to extend through 2008 and into 2009," Seiders wrote in the report.
Rate cuts by the Federal Reserve should continue in upcoming meetings in March and April, according to the report, "and the Fed could deliver even more monetary stimulus if conditions warrant."
He states that the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, signed by President Bush on Feb. 13, does offer some glimmers of hope, as its temporary increases in loan-size limits "are bound to help the housing market in high-priced areas (like California) to some degree," though "it remains to be seen how much additional home buying will be stimulated over the balance of the year."
The report adds, "Expiration of the higher limits at year-end figures to be a serious problem in the likely event that the private secondary market for jumbo loans still is not functioning properly by then."And Seiders suggests that tax incentives for home buying could offer a boost to the housing market, if "coupled with policy measures that enhance the availability of mortgage credit," via federal and state housing finance agencies.
Sales of new single-family homes fell to the lowest adjusted annual rate in about 13 years in January. And new homes spent a median 6.7 months on the market in January, which was the lengthiest time on market since May 1992, when the agencies reported a median 7.1 months on market.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors has reported that the median price of single-family resale homes dropped 5.1 percent in January compared to the same month last year, with total sales for all resale home types dropping 23.4 percent.
U.S. foreclosure activity in January, as measured by the volume of total foreclosure filings, rose about 57 percent compared to January 2007, real estate data company RealtyTrac reported. And NAHB reported earlier this month that median-priced homes in about half of the 220 U.S. metro areas included in a housing affordability index study were unaffordable to median-income households during fourth-quarter 2007.
The U.S. home-ownership rate fell during the fourth quarter to 67.7 percent, which continues a slide that started in third-quarter 2004, and the wave of mortgage foreclosures that is a contributor to that decline "are sure to extend through 2008 and into 2009," Seiders wrote in the report.
Rate cuts by the Federal Reserve should continue in upcoming meetings in March and April, according to the report, "and the Fed could deliver even more monetary stimulus if conditions warrant."
He states that the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, signed by President Bush on Feb. 13, does offer some glimmers of hope, as its temporary increases in loan-size limits "are bound to help the housing market in high-priced areas (like California) to some degree," though "it remains to be seen how much additional home buying will be stimulated over the balance of the year."
The report adds, "Expiration of the higher limits at year-end figures to be a serious problem in the likely event that the private secondary market for jumbo loans still is not functioning properly by then."And Seiders suggests that tax incentives for home buying could offer a boost to the housing market, if "coupled with policy measures that enhance the availability of mortgage credit," via federal and state housing finance agencies.
posted by Ken Calhoon at 12:03 PM
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