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发表于 2010-3-23 10:15 AM
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U.S. existing-home sales fall for third straight month
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Resales of U.S. homes and condos fell 0.6% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million, the lowest level in eight months, raising doubts about the durability of the housing recovery, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
Sales of existing homes have fallen three consecutive months after rising steadily through the fall in response to a federal subsidy for first-time home buyers. The tax credit has been restored and expanded to repeat buyers, but there has been no increase in sales yet.
"We need to have a second surge," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the real estate lobbying group. The jury is still out. "Has everything in the gas tank been used up? Or is this just a pause before the next step up?" he said.
A double-dip recession is a "possibility" if a second surge of buying doesn't occur, Yun said.
The original tax break was set to expire on Nov. 30, a deadline that likely pulled forward many sales that would have taken place this year. Just before it expired, Congress extended and expanded the subsidy. Sales must be signed by April 30, and the sale must be closed by June 30 to qualify. Sales of existing homes are reported when the sale closes, not when a contract is signed.
Inventories of sales on the market jumped in February, rising 312,000 to 3.59 million, the highest since September. Yun said the January-to-February increase in inventory was much larger than usual in February. Inventories represented an 8.2-month supply at the current sales pace, the most since August.
The median sales price was $165,100, down 1.8% compared with a year earlier.
Sales were up in two of four regions. Sales rose at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 2.8% in the Midwest and 2.4% in the Northeast; sales dropped 4.7% in the West and 1.1% in the South.
Sales of single-family homes decreased 1.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.37 million, the lowest since June. Sales of condos rose 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 650,000. |
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狗仔卡
发表于 2010-3-23 10:09 AM
