Home sales rise 2.9%, boosted by bottom fishing
Here is just some further insight from MarketWatch into housing sales and the state of the housing market. While the numbers of sales rise, prices are have steadily dropped to near 2002 levels.
Prices drop 15.4% while inventories continue to climb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Boosted by bottom fishers snapping up foreclosures and by incentives for first-time buyers, sales of pre-owned homes rose 2.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million in April, a real estate trade group reported Wednesday.
Sales of existing homes have been roughly unchanged for six months.
Sales are rising in areas with the greatest price declines, the same cities that were at the center of the earlier housing bubble, the National Association of Realtors said.
Most of the sales are taking place in the low-end of the market, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR.
By contrast, sales of homes priced above $750,000 have collapsed, with an inventory currently on the market equal to 40 months of sales. The real estate group urged more help from the government to prop up the high end by lowering interest rates on jumbo loans. They also urged the Federal Reserve to buy securities backed by jumbo loans…Read More
