housing market

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10 Lies Homeowners Tell Buyers
10 Lies Homeowners Tell Buyers
Feb 8, 2008 6:41 PM CST

10 Lies Homeowners Tell Buyers

Few are above making a fib or two part of the sales pitch

(Newser) - When a homeowner is desperate to sell and a buyer is ready to fork over the cash, the truth about a house is often swept under the rug, MSNBC reports. Watch out for frequent fibs when talking about:
  1. Personality of neighbors and the neighborhood.
  2. Status of home repairs (particularly the
...

State Lenders Choke Bush's Fight Against Foreclosures

Housing agencies won't risk lending to debtors

(Newser) - President Bush’s goal of helping subprime borrowers by offering tax-exempt bonds is meeting resistance from state lenders, Bloomberg reports. Risk-averse state housing agencies are already turning down over half the applicants to their own programs intended to help those affected by the crisis, due mainly to applicants’ existing financial...

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
Jan 28, 2008 1:20 PM CST

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

Numbers are a surprise, economists had predicted little change from November

(Newser) - Sales of new homes fell to a 12-year low in December, making 2007 the worst year on record for home sales. Economists had predicted November's numbers wouldn't get much worse; instead, sales decreased 4.7% to an annual rate of 604,000, reports Bloomberg. "We are in deep recession...

Dec. Home Sales Kept Dropping
Dec. Home Sales Kept Dropping
Jan 24, 2008 10:14 AM CST

Dec. Home Sales Kept Dropping

Existing US sales resume tumble; median prices also fall

(Newser) - Existing home sales began to fall again in December after briefly bumping upwards in October and November. Home resales were at a 4.89 million annual rate; that's down 2.2% from November and down 13% from last year. "Home sales remain weak despite improved affordability conditions in many...

Bernanke Can't Rally Markets
Bernanke Can't Rally Markets
Jan 18, 2008 4:00 AM CST

Bernanke Can't Rally Markets

Dow Jones drops another 3% as economic data puts black cloud over Wall Street

(Newser) - Signs the housing market black hole was worsening and pulling down the rest of the economy spurred the DJIA to slide another 3% yesterday as investors decided a federal rescue plan was too late to help, reports the New York Times. Even reassuring words from Fed Chair Ben Bernanke that...

Chicago's Spire Condos May Be a Tough Sell

Developer plunges pricey skyscraper into lousy housing market

(Newser) - The Chicago Spire residential tower isn't even under construction yet, but its luxury condos—slated to be sold for unprecedented prices—will come face-to-face with a lousy housing market when the sales office opens today. Prices for units in the twisting skyscraper start at $1,400 per square foot, but...

Economists Fear It's Too Late to Save Economy

Measures now won't have impact for months

(Newser) - It may already be too late to quickly stop the economic tailspin triggered by the implosion of the housing market and booming energy prices, several experts believe, reports the New York Times. Perhaps the best that can be done is to make the crunch hurt a little less. “The...

American Express Feels Credit Crunch

With defaults on rise, company taking hefty fourth-quarter charge

(Newser) - With consumer spending slowing and credit defaults on the rise, American Express said today it will take a fourth-quarter charge of $275 million to build up its charge-card reserves, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company, which cited housing turmoil as a contributing factor, also predicted earnings to come in...

Markets Swing; Nasdaq Suffers
Markets Swing; Nasdaq Suffers
MARKETS
Jan 7, 2008 3:54 PM CST

Markets Swing; Nasdaq Suffers

Blue chips lead modest rises

(Newser) - The markets seesawed towards small increases, as the Dow saw its first gains of 2008 after fluctuating in a 150-point range, MarketWatch reports. The Nasdaq continued last week’s streak of losses, falling 5.19 to 2,499.46. The Dow ended up 27.31 at 12,827.49, and...

Given Rent Prices, Homes Still Too High

Expect another 15% drop if historical relationship holds

(Newser) - If rent prices are any indication, home prices aren’t done falling, according to one former and two current Federal Reserve economists. Annual rents have historically held steady at about 5% of home prices, but since 1996 home prices have left rents in the dust, the Wall Street Journal explains....

Home Resales See Small Surprise Rise
Home Resales See Small Surprise Rise
Dec 31, 2007 12:48 PM CST

Home Resales See Small Surprise Rise

November figures don't mean relief from housing-market woes

(Newser) - Existing-home sales rose unexpectedly in November, although not enough to suggest that the economy is over the housing slump, Bloomberg reports. Resales rose 0.4% to an annual rate of 5 million, up from October’s record-low pace, but the year-over-year figure represents a 20% drop. The median price dropped...

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
Dec 28, 2007 11:00 AM CST

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

Decline tops even worst estimate

(Newser) - New home sales fell much farther than expected in November, hitting their lowest point since 1995, Bloomberg reports, and the slide only likely to get worse. Sales fell to an annual pace of 647,000, a 9% drop from October’s revised-down 711,000 rate. Prices are falling, but buyers...

Home Prices Suffer Record Monthly Drop

October figures exceed gloomy estimates, show continued slump

(Newser) - Home prices plummeted 6.1% in October, a record year-over-year drop that exceeded forecasts. The index of prices in 20 major markets has dropped every month this year and fell 1.4% from the September figure, another record. The trend threatens overall consumer spending, making it more difficult for homeowners...

Nov. Housing Starts Fall 3.7%
Nov. Housing Starts Fall 3.7%
Dec 18, 2007 10:30 AM CST

Nov. Housing Starts Fall 3.7%

And permits for new homes fall to 14-year low

(Newser) - Housing starts fell less than expected in November, but fall they did, extending the worst housing slump since 1991. Starts fell 3.7% and, according to one analyst, probably won’t turn around until the third quarter of next year. Permits issued, which give a picture of future construction, fell...

Morgan Stanley Warns of Recession
Morgan Stanley Warns of Recession
Dec 12, 2007 6:11 PM CST

Morgan Stanley Warns of Recession

Housing slump, cost of borrowing could lead to 'perfect storm' in US economy

(Newser) - Morgan Stanley is warning that the US is headed to a recession, the Telegraph writes, indicating today that factors such as the continued housing slump and high cost of borrowing will lead to decreased demand and a “perfect storm” for consumers. A partial freeze on subprime mortgages and expected...

Pending Home Sales Rise Slightly
Pending Home Sales Rise Slightly
Dec 10, 2007 11:11 AM CST

Pending Home Sales Rise Slightly

New numbers make quarter-point cut more likely, traders say

(Newser) - US home sales jumped in October and will rise slightly overall next year, beating forecasts, the Wall Street Journal reports. The National Association of Realtors' index for pending sales of existing homes spiked 0.6% in October over September, which was up 1.4% over August—but those increases are...

Housing Crash Pushes Home Builder Into Red

Toll Brothers has its first losing quarter in 21 years

(Newser) - Toll Brothers, the country's largest luxury homebuilder, today reported its first quarterly loss in 21 years, Bloomberg reports, as the housing slump drove away buyers and forced the company to write down land. “Demand has just fallen off the table,” one analyst explains. Toll lost $81.8 million,...

WH Pares 2008 Economic Forecast, Hikes Jobless Rate

Housing decline 'more significant' than thought

(Newser) - The White House cut back its expectations for 2008 economic growth today and said unemployment rates are likely to worsen, citing the housing slump. GDP will grow only by 2.7% next year, down from an earlier 3.1%, said officials from Treasury and the Council of Economic Advisers; and...

Home Sales Hit Record Low Despite Dropping Prices

Sales of existing properties down 20.7% over last year

(Newser) - Existing-home sales fell for the eighth consecutive month in October, hitting record lows in a survey of realtors. Resales dropped to an annual rate of 4.97 million, down 1.2% from September, despite a huge 5.1% drop in median price. “Price declines are part of the healing...

Home Prices Suffer Record Quarterly Drop

Housing market's woes worsen across the country

(Newser) - The housing slump deepened in September as home prices plummeted, posting a record 4.5% decline from third quarter 2006 to third quarter 2007, Marketwatch reports. The 1.7% decline from the second to the third quarter was also a record in the 21 years the bellwether index has been...

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