Home sales

The National Association of Realtors just released a report today showing that existing home sales fell 3% in September. This puts the existing home sales figures on track to at least match last year’s sales which were the worst in the last past 13 years.the good news in this report, was that even though existing home sales were down for September on a month-to-month basis when one compares the home sales on a yearly basis, the September figures were actually ahead by 11.3%!

Existing home sales in September amounted to 30% up from 29% from the prior month. Usually its investors who make up the majority of the all cash sales.

When one looks at this report by region, the West chalked up the worst results. In the Western region existing home sales for September fell 8.8% while the median home price also fell 4.5% from  September 2010.

The administration’s imposition of tougher mortgage lending requirements are causing some creditworthy applicants to be denied loans. Also, just recently the government lowered the upper limit for loans that it would purchase in the secondary market. This action meant that many mortgages issued in the West and other higher priced areas would have to pay a higher interest rate because now their loan would be considered a jumbo rate.

For many, today’s news on the real estate market comes as a surprise to many, but I believe readers of this blog know that I’ve been predicting and believe we are now in a double dip for the housing market. The gravity of today’s housing report can only be really appreciated if one considers that during the reporting period, the market has experienced some of the lowest mortgage rates in history!