BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Pending Home Sales Slump 16% in November]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2010/01/05/surprise-pending-home-sales-slump-16-in-november/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2010/01/05/surprise-pending-home-sales-slump-16-in-november/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2010/01/05/surprise-pending-home-sales-slump-16-in-november/#commentsFiled under: , ,

You've often seen the ads: "Hurry, sale ends tomorrow." A similar pattern occurred in pending home sales. Buyers were in a rush to take advantage of the $8.000 tax credit for first time buyers before the program ended in October. In October the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index stood at 114.3

The temporary end to the tax credit program created a vacuum. The Pending Home Sales Index fell to 96, for a drop of 16%. Nevertheless, the index was 15.5% higher than November 2008.


Continue reading Pending Home Sales Slump 16% in November

Pending Home Sales Slump 16% in November originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>home salesHomeSalesinthenewstax incentiveTue, 05 Jan 2010 15:20:00 EST<![CDATA[US Senate extends jobless benefits and first time home buyer credit]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/11/05/us-senate-extends-jobless-benefits-and-first-time-home-buyer-cre/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/11/05/us-senate-extends-jobless-benefits-and-first-time-home-buyer-cre/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/11/05/us-senate-extends-jobless-benefits-and-first-time-home-buyer-cre/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

After haggling since September the US Senate finally passed an extension for unemployed persons and extended the credit for first time home buyers.

The situation for unemployed persons is dire. Here are just a few facts about their current situation:

  • We have 15 million unemployed vying for just three million available jobs.
  • 200,000 persons lost their benefits since September
  • 7000 persons a day are losing their benefits.
  • More than 1/3 of the unemployed have been out or work for at least six months.

Continue reading US Senate extends jobless benefits and first time home buyer credit

US Senate extends jobless benefits and first time home buyer credit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>congressfeaturedhome ownershiphome salesHomeOwnershipHomeSalesunemployment benefitsUnemploymentBenefitsThu, 05 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST<![CDATA[Eight ways to define the recession]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/10/12/eight-ways-to-define-the-recession/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/10/12/eight-ways-to-define-the-recession/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/10/12/eight-ways-to-define-the-recession/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

We've watched stock market numbers bounce around for two years. Unemployment stats have served as unpleasant reminders that, for some, leading indicators haven't translated to reality. We look for so many ways to understand the brutal economic environment with which we've had to contend, and all the choices can make your head spin. So, let's make it simple. Here are eight ways to tack a label onto the financial world in which we live.

1. Lost market value
Total stock market losses from October 2007's top to March 2009's bottom: $11.2 trillion
Total gains in the stock market since the bottom: $4.6 trillion
Lost ground: $6.6 trillion

2. Bad days
Percentage of the 10 worst days in history for the Dow Jones Industrial Average that happened in 2008, by point drops: 60%
Percentage of the 10 worst days in history for the DJIA that happened in 2008, by percentage drops: 30%

3. Mutual funds
Value of mutual fund assets at the end of 2007: $6.5 trillion
... and a year later: $3.7 million
Lost value: $2.8 trillion

But, it got a little better at the end of August 2009: $4.5 trillion (value of assets)

Continue reading Eight ways to define the recession

Eight ways to define the recession originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>djiadow jones industrial averageDowJonesIndustrialAverageeconomic crisisEconomicCrisisfinancial crisisFinancialCrisisgoldhome salesHomeSalesinthenewsmutual fundmutual fundsMutualFundMutualFundsrecessionretailretail salesRetailSalesstock marketStockMarketunemployedunemploymentunemployment rateUnemploymentRateMon, 12 Oct 2009 14:50:00 EST<![CDATA[KB Home third quarter earnings preview]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/24/kb-home-third-quarter-earnings-preview/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/24/kb-home-third-quarter-earnings-preview/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/24/kb-home-third-quarter-earnings-preview/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

KB Homes third quarter earnings previewCalifornia based home builder KB Home (NYSE: KBH) will have its turn to impress Wall Street Friday morning when it reports its third quarter earnings numbers.

The last time that KB Home reported earnings was back on June 26 when it missed analyst estimates miserably. Analysts had been expecting to see the company show a loss of 64 cents per share for its second quarter, but the actual earning were much worse, with a loss of $1.03.

Continue reading KB Home third quarter earnings preview

KB Home third quarter earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>earningsearnings previewEarningsPreviewhome buildershome salesHomeBuildersHomeSaleshousinginthenewsKB HomeKBHKbHomenew homesNewHomesThu, 24 Sep 2009 16:20:00 EST<![CDATA[Existing home sales fell in July]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/24/existing-home-sales-fell-in-july/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/24/existing-home-sales-fell-in-july/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/24/existing-home-sales-fell-in-july/#commentsFiled under: ,

existing home salesAfter four months of gains in existing home sales, July saw a dip of 2.7 percent in home resales, a slight speed bump for the recovering housing market.

While today's news does cast a small shadow on the hopes of a housing rebound, there are still plenty of reasons to think that the housing market has bottomed out.

Continue reading Existing home sales fell in July

Existing home sales fell in July originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>existing home salesExistingHomeSalesforeclosureshome salesHomeSaleshousinghousing recoveryHousingRecoveryincentivesinthenewsrecessionThu, 24 Sep 2009 14:20:00 EST<![CDATA[Closing Bell: Overbought, yes... but who cares? (ALL, EK, GE, PEP) ]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/04/closing-bell-overbought-yes-but-who-cares-all-ek-ge-pe/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/04/closing-bell-overbought-yes-but-who-cares-all-ek-ge-pe/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/04/closing-bell-overbought-yes-but-who-cares-all-ek-ge-pe/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This was one of those days where profit takers had the markets soft all morning, but strong pending home sales rallied the stock market and trumped an inverted spending and income figure. A revision for a lower hurricane season helped insurers.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,315.51 +28.95 (0.31%)
S&P 500 1,004.86 +2.23 (0.22%)
Nasdaq 2,008.80 +0.19 (0.01%)

Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

Continue reading Closing Bell: Overbought, yes... but who cares? (ALL, EK, GE, PEP)

Closing Bell: Overbought, yes... but who cares? (ALL, EK, GE, PEP) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>home salesHomeSaleshurricanepepsico bottlerPepsicoBottlerSECTue, 04 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Dow passes through 9,000 mark]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/07/23/dow-passes-through-9-000-mark/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/07/23/dow-passes-through-9-000-mark/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/07/23/dow-passes-through-9-000-mark/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dow breaks through 9,000For the first time since early January, the DOW broke through the psychological 9,000 mark in today's trading.

It has been a strong day for the market, with the DOW currently sitting at 9,080, a little off its daily high of 9,090.50.

Continue reading Dow passes through 9,000 mark

Dow passes through 9,000 mark originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AAPLAppleattDOWeconomyfeaturedgoldman sachsGoldmanSachsGShome salesHomeSaleshousinginvestorsmarketrecessionrecoveryThu, 23 Jul 2009 15:40:00 EST<![CDATA[New home construction jumps in May]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/06/16/new-home-construction-jumps-in-may/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/06/16/new-home-construction-jumps-in-may/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/06/16/new-home-construction-jumps-in-may/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

May Home ConstructionIt was the largest jump in three months, as new home construction increased by 17.2% during the last month.

The increase was much higher than analysts had been expecting, and last month we moved up to an annual rate of 532,000 units... well above the 500,000 units that had been forecast.

Continue reading New home construction jumps in May

New home construction jumps in May originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>economyforeclosurehome priceshome salesHomePricesHomeSaleshousinginthenewsreal estateRealEstateTue, 16 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Foreclosures continue to mount]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/06/11/foreclosures-continue-to-mount/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/06/11/foreclosures-continue-to-mount/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/06/11/foreclosures-continue-to-mount/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The good news is that there was a 6% drop in foreclosures from April to May. That is the good news, but the bad news is that May was the third straight month in a row for foreclosures topping 300,000.

RealtyTrac, which is the firm responsible for these figures stated that the exact number of foreclosure filings during the month was 321,480.

Continue reading Foreclosures continue to mount

Foreclosures continue to mount originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>economic slowdownEconomicSlowdownforeclosurehome saleshomesHomeSaleshousinginthenewsreal estateRealEstaterecessionThu, 11 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[KB Home first quarter earnings preview]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/26/kb-home-first-quarter-earnings-preview/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/26/kb-home-first-quarter-earnings-preview/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/26/kb-home-first-quarter-earnings-preview/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

We will see earnings from one of the major home builders in the morning, as KB Home (NYSE: KBH) gets its chance to impress Wall Street when it reports its first quarter numbers prior to the market open.

The company, which last year ranked the 5th largest home builder in the country, is expected to show a loss for the quarter of $0.81 per share. Should the company be able to match these estimates, it would be a great improvement over its fourth quarter loss of $3.96 per share. When looking back at the same period last year, KBH showed a loss of $3.47 per share for its first quarter last year.

Continue reading KB Home first quarter earnings preview

KB Home first quarter earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>earningsearnings previewEarningsPreviewhome priceshome salesHomePriceshomesHomeSalesKB HomeKBHKbHomereal estateRealEstaterealtytrrealtytracThu, 26 Mar 2009 17:20:00 EST<![CDATA[Existing home sales rise in February]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/23/existing-home-sales-rise-in-february/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/23/existing-home-sales-rise-in-february/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/23/existing-home-sales-rise-in-february/#commentsFiled under:

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sales of pre-owned homes increased 5.1% in February -- bringing the seasonally adjusted annual rate to 4.72 million units in February. The NAR attributed the growth to "deep price discounts." The percentage gain was the largest since July 2003, but sales are still down 4.6% during the past 52 weeks.

A survey by MarketWatch showed expectations for a decline to 4.45 million from January's 4.49 million rate. In the past year, the median sales price for homes fell 15.5% to $165,400 -- logging the second largest year-over-year price drop ever. The largest year-over-year price drop logged was January's drop of 17.5%. The inventory of unsold homes increased 5.2% to 3.80 million, which is a 9.7-month supply at February's sales pace. More often than not, inventories increase 5% in February -- but such data is not adjusted for seasonality.

Continue reading Existing home sales rise in February

Existing home sales rise in February originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>home salesHomeSaleshousing dataHousingDatainthenewsnational association of realtorsNationalAssociationOfRealtorsMon, 23 Mar 2009 10:55:00 EST<![CDATA[Pending home sales rise in December, according to NAR]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/03/pending-home-sales-rise-in-december-according-to-nar/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/03/pending-home-sales-rise-in-december-according-to-nar/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/03/pending-home-sales-rise-in-december-according-to-nar/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

The troubled housing market got a bit of good news today, as the National Association of Realtors stated that pending home sales rose during the month of December.

According to today's report, pending home sales increased by 6.3% in December, coming off an all-time low that it set in November. The news comes as potential home buyers are starting to show interest in deeply-discounted homes.

Continue reading Pending home sales rise in December, according to NAR

Pending home sales rise in December, according to NAR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>d.r.hortonDHIearningsearnings reportsEarningsReportsgood newsGoodNewshome saleshome valuesHomeSalesHomeValueshousingpending home salesPendingHomeSalesTue, 03 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Before the Bell: Will Santa think investors are naughty or nice?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/12/23/before-the-bell-will-santa-think-investors-are-naughty-or-nice/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/12/23/before-the-bell-will-santa-think-investors-are-naughty-or-nice/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/12/23/before-the-bell-will-santa-think-investors-are-naughty-or-nice/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Will Santa bring investors toys or a lump of coal today? The picture is a little murky.

Stock futures are pointing to a slightly higher open and investors await new economic later today that is expected to show that the economy continues to be weak. Economists expect final Gross Domestic Product figures released later this morning by the Commerce Department to show a decline of 0.5% in the July through September quarter, according to the Associated Press. Reports on new home sales scheduled to be released today are expected to show declines.

Meanwhile, falling oil prices are pushing down stocks in Europe even though the U.K. economy posted its worst third quarter since 1990. Markets in Asia fell amid investors' concerns about interest rate cuts in China and Toyota Motor Corp.'s (NYSE: TM) first quarterly loss in 70 years. Bloomberg News is reporting that Toyota is considering cutting its North American payroll.c

In the U.S., all eyes will be on the housing market. Investors will be looking for some reason to be optimistic. That may be tough. According to the Wall Street Journal, record-low interest rates is spurring a wave of refinancing and not home purchases. Home resales appeared to stabilize in the fall but that was because of record levels of foreclosures.

"Ivy Zelman, chief executive of housing-research firm Zelman & Associates, estimates that, even with such a low rate, only about 67% of U.S. households can afford a house," the paper said. "Home ownership was nearly 68% in the third quarter, according to the Census Bureau, implying there is virtually no untapped demand for homes."

Santa's nice list may be small this year.

Before the Bell: Will Santa think investors are naughty or nice? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredhome priceshome salesHomePricesHomeSalesNASDAQNYSEoil pricesOilPricesREal estateRealEstatestocksTue, 23 Dec 2008 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Mortgage applications inch higher last week]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/13/mortgage-applications-inch-higher-last-week/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/13/mortgage-applications-inch-higher-last-week/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/13/mortgage-applications-inch-higher-last-week/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The main question that everyone keeps asking regarding the housing market is: when are people going to start to buy again? Last week we saw a little encouragement in this area, as mortgage applications rose a bit higher, possibly in reaction to lower interest rates.

Almost everyone agrees that the troubled housing market is a key ingredient to the current economic troubles that the American economy is dealing with, but today we got a bit of good news, as mortgage applications reportedly rose by 11.9%.

Last week's move is a nice sign, but we also have to remember that just the week before, we were looking at applications running at their lowest level since all the way back in December 2000, so we can't allow ourselves to get too excited over today's news. We still have a long way to go before the country is able to crawl its way out of the current housing melt down.

Continue reading Mortgage applications inch higher last week

Mortgage applications inch higher last week originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>foreclosureshome salesHomeSaleshousinghousing marketHousingMarketinterest ratesInterestRatesinthenewsmortgagesThu, 13 Nov 2008 17:20:00 EST<![CDATA[Falling home prices hit one California town hard]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/11/falling-home-prices-hit-california-town-hard/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/11/falling-home-prices-hit-california-town-hard/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/11/falling-home-prices-hit-california-town-hard/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

As home prices continue to weaken, more and more homeowners are facing the real possibility that their homes will wind up "underwater" before the market starts to rebound. Of all the areas in the country that are facing tough times, the worst of times are being felt in the California city of Mountain House.

So what exactly does it mean to have your house underwater? Simply put, a mortgage goes underwater when the balance a homeowner owes on his house is more than the house is worth.

Just how bad has the situation gotten in Mountain House? The figures are staggering. According to figures released yesterday, roughly 90% of all homeowners in Mountain House are now facing mortgages that are underwater. Nine out of every 10 homeowners woke up this morning facing the fact that their home values have been in free fall and there is little that they can do to correct the current situation.

Continue reading Falling home prices hit one California town hard

Falling home prices hit one California town hard originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Californiahome priceshome saleshome valuesHomePricesHomeSalesHomeValueshousinginthenewsmortgagesMountain HouseMountainHouseTue, 11 Nov 2008 14:10:00 EST<![CDATA[September sees rise in new home sales]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/27/september-sees-rise-in-new-home-sales/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/27/september-sees-rise-in-new-home-sales/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/27/september-sees-rise-in-new-home-sales/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

I have been writing a lot lately about all the negative indicators that we see coming out of the housing market, so it is nice to have some positive news to discuss today! The good news comes from the Commerce Department, which announced that sales of new homes in September rose by an unexpected 2.7%.

While any rise in home sales is reason to celebrate, the jump in September is much sweeter since analysts had been planning on actually seeing a drop in the month.

On the other side of the coin, one of the main reasons why we saw such a nice jump in sales during the month could be related to the continuing decline in home prices. During the month, the median price for new homes sold was $218,400. This figure is the lowest that the market has seen since all the way back in September 2004, and marks a 9.1% drop from the same month last year. Not the best of news for homeowners out there that are already concerned about their falling home values.

Continue reading September sees rise in new home sales

September sees rise in new home sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>foreclosureshome priceshome salesHomePricesHomeSalesinthenewsreal estateRealEstateMon, 27 Oct 2008 14:46:00 EST<![CDATA[Mortgage applications drop to eight year low]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/22/mortgage-applications-drop-to-8-year-low/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/22/mortgage-applications-drop-to-8-year-low/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/22/mortgage-applications-drop-to-8-year-low/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

More bad news on the struggling housing market today, as the Mortgage Bankers Association announced that last week mortgage applications dropped to an eight year low. This is another sign that people are not ready to jump back into the housing market just yet.

As we all know, home prices have been falling steadily over the past year, and we are all waiting to see the point where buyers decide that the price is right to jump back into the market. So far, that is just not happening. According to today's report, mortgage volume was 44% lower last week than the same period last year.

Refinancing applications were down 23.5% last week, and more importantly, mortgage applications to purchase new homes fell 10.9% from the previous week. The last time weekly volume was this low was all the way back in December 2000.

Continue reading Mortgage applications drop to eight year low

Mortgage applications drop to eight year low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>home salesHomeSaleshousinginthenewsMortgage Bankers AssociationMortgageBankersAssociationmortgagesWed, 22 Oct 2008 14:12:00 EST<![CDATA[Pending home sales rise in August]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/08/pending-home-sales-rise-in-august/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/08/pending-home-sales-rise-in-august/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/08/pending-home-sales-rise-in-august/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

With all the negative news that we have seen lately, it's nice to hear one piece of positive news regarding the housing market. We got that today on news that pending home sales rose unexpectedly in August.

The National Association of Realtors tracks home sales in its index, and reported today that its pending home sales index rose from 87 in July up to 93.7 in August. Going into today's report, analysts had been expecting to see the index actual fall, and were thinking that we would see the number drop down to 86 in the month, so the increase was definitely a bit of good news in an otherwise rocky market.

The areas of the country that saw the best jump in July were the same ones that have been beaten up the most over the past year, including California, Nevada, Florida, and Arizona.

Continue reading Pending home sales rise in August

Pending home sales rise in August originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Federal ReserveFederalReserveforeclosureshome priceshome salesHomePricesHomeSaleshousinghousing marketHousingMarketinterest ratesInterestRatesinthenewsrecessionWed, 08 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[August home sales highlight an already rocky housing market]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/25/august-home-sales-highlight-an-already-rocky-housing-market/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/25/august-home-sales-highlight-an-already-rocky-housing-market/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/25/august-home-sales-highlight-an-already-rocky-housing-market/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

As Washington tries to come up with an agreement on how to solve the current economic crisis, we received more information today on just how bad things are getting, as figures show new home sales were very weak during the month of August.

As the credit crunch and falling home values continue to apply pressure to an already weak housing market, the Commerce Department announced today that new home sales in August fell by a sharp 11.5% in August, resulting in a seasonally adjusted sales rate of 460,000 new homes. To find the last time we saw a rate this low, we would have to look all the way back to January of 1991.

As always, Wall Street likes to compare actual numbers to estimates. Had economists been expecting to see a 10% or greater drop in new home sales, that would be one thing, but that was not the case. Going into today's report, economists were expecting to see new home sales fall, though not nearly the 11.5% actual rate, but a much smaller drop of only 1% in the month. So today's reported sales figures are definitely going to add to the confusion that many are feeling regarding the housing market.

Continue reading August home sales highlight an already rocky housing market

August home sales highlight an already rocky housing market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Congressdurable goodsDurableGoodseconomic slowdownEconomicSlowdowneconomyhome priceshome salesHomePricesHomeSalesinthenewsunemploymentThu, 25 Sep 2008 17:20:00 EST<![CDATA[New home sales rise in July - but the news is not all good]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/26/new-home-sales-rise-in-july-but-come-in-under-expectations/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/26/new-home-sales-rise-in-july-but-come-in-under-expectations/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/26/new-home-sales-rise-in-july-but-come-in-under-expectations/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Today's housing news on new home sales in July sounds eerily similar to the post I wrote yesterday about July existing home sales. In both cases, we are given a quick headline that sounds like good news, but once you dig into the details a little deeper you realize that the news is just not as pretty as it first sounds.

Let's first take a look at the positive headline: New home sales rise in July. Great, this is exactly the sort of news that the market needs to hear. After all, weakness in the housing market has been a major catalyst to the current economic slowdown, so any good news is like a breath of fresh air. During July the market saw a jump of 2.4%. Not too shabby.

But what does this really mean?

Continue reading New home sales rise in July - but the news is not all good

New home sales rise in July - but the news is not all good originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredhome priceshome salesHomePricesHomeSaleshousingreal estateRealEstateTue, 26 Aug 2008 15:15:00 EST