Housing Slump Continues

Another monthly report and more gloomy numbers. This article from Bloomberg titled Home Resales in U.S. Fall 2.2% to 4.91 Million Pace depicts how things are still on the downward spiral. Lets take a look -

Sales of existing homes dropped 2.2 percent to an annual rate off 4.91 million units from 5.02 million the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median price declined 9.5 percent from August 2007 and the number of properties fell from a record.

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Today's figures compare with the 4.85 million level reached in June, the lowest in a decade and 33 percent down from the record reached in September 2005.

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The median price of an existing home dropped to $203,100 from $224,400 a year ago. For single-family houses, the median price dropped 9.7 percent, the biggest decline since records began in 1968.

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The Northeast suffered a 6.6 percent decline in sales, followed by a 5.3 percent drop in the West. Purchases rose in the Midwest and Southeast.

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Stricter lending regulations and tumbling home prices make it harder for Americans to tap home equity for extra cash. Consumer spending in the third quarter will probably be the weakest since 1991, according to economists surveyed earlier this month.

A decline in home sales as well as home prices. And we are still in free fall. A significant portion of the sales that were made were from foreclosures - sales yes but at fire sale prices. Bad news all around.