October 12, 2024

San Diego hew home salesSales of new homes dropped in February to the lowest level seen in nearly seven years, while inventories of unsold homes rose to a 16-year high, suggesting that the nation's housing market was softening heading into the vital spring buying season.

Sales of newly constructed single-family houses slowed again in February, falling 3.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 848,000, the lowest level since June 2000, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Sales were down 18.3% compared with February 2006.

"Housing still has some distance to fall," wrote Phillip Neuhart, an economist for Wachovia, in a research note.

Inventories of unsold homes rose 1.5% to 546,000, representing an 8.1-month supply, the largest inventory in relation to sales since January 1991, at the tail end of a recession. The inventory is up 27% in the past 12 months.

Inventories are probably understated, however, because they don't include homes thrown back on the market due to buyer cancellations.[tags]housing market,new home sales,real estate bubble[/tags] San Diego real estate agent

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