According to Asha Bangalore, new home sales declined again in February and are now running at a pace not seen since June 2000 (see March 26 Daily Global Commentary) The supply of new homes, meanwhile, rose to 8.1 months, a level not seen since 1991. And the number of completed homes for sale in February set an all-time record.
Asha’s previous commentary, on existing home sales, was slightly less discouraging: the pace of price-declines has moderated. For three reasons, however, Asha still considers the relatively good news of the past few months in existing home sales to be temporary: tightening mortgage lending standards, less availability of subprime financing, and rising delinquencies. She also notes that, despite a pick-up in February in the number of houses sold, the total inventory also increased.
So it seems as though those jubilant shouts about the housing market having stabilized may have been premature.