Pending Home Sales Plunge At Fastest Pace Since April 2011
For the 5th month in a row, pending home sales missed expectations (though a silver lining is a positive print MoM – breaking a 5-month streak). Year-over-year, home sales collapsed at 4% – its worst drop since April 2011, and that even after prior data was revised lower. Still, despite this ongoing plunge, there is always hope – as engendered by NAR’s chief economist who states (somewhat unconfidently), “we may have reached a cyclical low.” Cylical low indeed – just don’t look at the chart.
Sure doesn’t look like a cyclical low…
as data misses for the 5th month in a row…
There is always hope… (via NAR)
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market is flattening. “We may have reached a cyclical low because the positive fundamentals of job creation and household formation are likely to foster a fairly stable level of contract activity in 2014,” he said. “Although the final months of 2013 are finishing on a soft note, the year as a whole will end with the best sales total in seven years.”
More here…
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When folks can’t pay for it, it is always cheap. Counting those working a jobs that pay half of what they used to make, unemployment is closer to 40%.
Housing will go down even more, and more will go into foreclosure.
What buyers should be careful about is getting clear title to any house they buy. So many titles are screwed up so before buying any house, go to the courthouse and for $7 to $10.00 check the title recording to see if it is clear and that the one you are paying is the one recorded as having the title. Some title insurance companies have small print letting them NOT be liable for bad titles.
What a shame it will be if a person pays for many years on a house only to find out the one you paid is the wrong one since the company paid does not have clear title to give you. Even worse is when the right one comes to get their payment and you have to pay them and doing so caused you to pay twice.
Think you will be able to find the wrong one and get your money back? Yea, Right!!!!
Alabama John, I could not agree more about tainted titles. I have seen listings that cite MERS as the owner of the property, fergodsake! I doubt that the sale was ever recorded.
There are houses that have been with the same owner for over 20 years, or certainly longer than the last housing boom. Those would be worth considering. I can’t imagine how the title problem will ever be sorted out with the slicing and dicing of mortgages into multiple securities.
National Association of Realtors ,”there has never been a better time to buy real estate” “real estate? they don’t make it anymore!!” , always good for a laugh … 2014 looking good? people being cut to part time , unemployed losing benefits , mandated expenses (obamacare) that are double what you paid voluntarily a year ago… real unemployment at 15% , real inflation at 8-10% …. sounds like prime time to buy that move-up house to me!
Here in Miami homes are still in trouble. The higher end was seeing a big boom, since homes that were once a million bucks were selling for say 750,000 or less if its a short sale. All these sales are fueled by outsiders looking to buy at good prices in the good areas, plus these cock sucking realtors telling them lies, that things are booming and they better buy now. Well F.Y.I that market is falling too. You cant have a Market where only outsiders are buying all cash and in certain areas. The US has always counted on the middle class to buy and move the wheels forward. The middle class is being crushed more and more every day. Democrats & Republicans have turned us all into Sheep! While our state judges commit crimes everyday and let any bank have a property they dont own.