Real estate sales have just plunged by a nearly unimaginable amount.
According to the the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 27.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million units in July from a downwardly revised 5.26 million in June, and are 25.5 percent below the 5.14 million-unit level in July 2009.
It is important to remember that July 2009 was still near the trough of the recession.
The number confirms other data from the government and private firms like RealtyTrac and Zillow. Defaults are rising as are foreclosures and the buyers strike among homeowners continues despite the lowest mortgage rates on record.
The only part of the report that should be viewed with skepticism is the data that shows prices increasing.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $182,600 in July, up 0.7 percent from a year ago. Distressed home sales are unchanged from June, accounting for 32 percent of transactions in July; they were 31 percent in July 2009.
The report said that “sales are at the lowest level since the total existing-home sales series launched in 1999, and single family sales – accounting for the bulk of transactions – are at the lowest level since May of 1995.” That makes claims that prices are rising implausible
Douglas A. McIntyre
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