Home sales see slight uptick
December 31st, 2007, 5:19 pm · Post a Comment · posted by mistywilliams
Nationwide, existing home sales inched upward in November. But is it a sign that the market is stabilizing?
Sales rose 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units but were still down 20 percent from November 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The association says that the modest increase is a sign that the housing market is leveling out after months of turmoil stemming from the credit crunch.
“Mortgage interest rates are near historic lows and the most current data shows decelerating price declines, along with a modest reduction in the number of homes on the market,” the group’s senior economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
But local real estate agents and industry analysts seem to think 2008 will bring more price drops in neighborhoods around the Valley.
More than 50,000 existing homes are still on the market, and that doesn’t include the overabundance of new homes still out there. That supply will have to come down and balance with demand before recovery becomes a reality. And that means sellers will either need to take their homes off the market or lower prices.
