Pending U.S. home sales fell to the lowest level on record in November, as the plummeting stock market and faltering economy caused buyers to delay their purchases, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Tuesday.U.S. existing home sales plunged to a rate of 4.49 million in November, down 8.6 percent from October. When the final tally for 2008 is complete, it is likely to be the worst year for home sales in at least in a decade. Plus, with job losses mounting, there appears to be no quick turnaround this year.
Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal. So November's decline foreshadows bleak results for December's existing home sales numbers, set to be release Jan. 26.
Sales contracts fell around the country, but were weakest in the Northeast and Midwest.
Pending sales now sit at the lowest in its eight-years -- beating the previous record low in March 2008.
Lobbyists for the real estate industry are using the deteriorating housing market data to call on President-elect Barack Obama to devote attention to sinking home prices and sales -- the genesis of the recession.
The U.S. has been coping with the worst housing recession in decades, and many in the real estate, banking and mortgage industries are poring through each month's data for signs of a bottom, with no luck so far.
Indeed, the contracting economy makes the timing of any recovery a moving target. Home sales are growing in foreclosure-plagued areas like Las Vegas and Los Angeles, but are still sinking in most of the country. The Realtors group estimates that 45 percent of existing home sales are now foreclosures and other distressed properties.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, forecasts a modest increase in home sales for 2009. He projects sales will be up 6.6 percent, after plunging by around 13 percent in both 2007 and 2008. Prices are forecasts to remain relatively level with a median of $198,100 this year, up from $197,000 last year. Courtesy Business Week.
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