S&P 500
7,226.20
+0.01%
Dow Jones
49,494.60
-0.62%
Nasdaq 100
27,685.40
+0.66%
Russell 2000
2,804.78
-0.02%
FTSE 100
10,364.50
0.00%
Nikkei 225
59,260.50
-0.78%

Housing

New Home Sales Surge

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Flickr, Images of Money
In another very modest indication that the housing market has bottomed, new home sales moved higher

The Commerce Department:

Sales of new single-family houses in November 2011 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 315,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.This is 1.6 percent (±12.2%)* above the revised October rate of 310,000 and is 9.8 percent (±19.5%)* above the November 2010 estimate of 287,000.

But the damage done to the housing market will not be undone for years, and in some regions like Nevada and parts of California, it may not be undone at all.

Foreclosure rates are still on pace to top 3 million this year. The shadow inventory of homes not on the market but primed for sales is 1.6 million. And, over 20% of all homes with mortgages are underwater.

Despite the lowest interest rates on record–under 4%–few buyers have entered the market

Douglas A. McIntyre

 

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

A 71-Year-Old's $850,000 Home Is Her Biggest Retirement Asset. Downsizing Could Add $2,250 a Month
Drew Wood |

A 71-Year-Old's $850,000 Home Is Her Biggest Retirement Asset. Downsizing Could Add $2,250 a Month
Why The Money Guy's 25% Savings Rule Actually Starts at 15%
Ian Cooper |

Why The Money Guy's 25% Savings Rule Actually Starts at 15%

Continue Reading

Paul Ausick |

May Sales of Existing Homes Soar to 6-Year High

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in May jumped 5.1% to 5.35 million, according to the National…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Existing Home Sales Rise 5% In December, But Cancellations At 33%

The National Association of Realtors announced that existing home sales rose 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million.…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

The Real Housing News–Average Home Price Down To $214,000

Sales of new single-family houses in March 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,000, according to estimates…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

New Home Sales In October Up Only A Fraction

The Census and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that new homes sales were only 307,000 in October. September…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Foreclosed Homes Sales — 50% Off

Some 24% of the homes sold in the U.S. during the fourth quarter were in some stage of foreclosure, according…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

National Association of Realtors: A Housing Recovery Or A Mirage?

The National Association of Realtors says exiting home sales rose a strong 10% in September. Existing home sales includes single-family, townhouses,…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Housing: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

It has been only 24 hours since the Commerce Department said new home sales and permits reached multi-month highs. The…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Existing Home Sales Up, But Prices Still Weak

Existing home sales rose 5.6% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million.  But “are 27.9 percent…
Housing Prices Recover to 2005 Bubble Level
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Housing Prices Recover to 2005 Bubble Level

Housing prices have recovered all the way to 2005 bubble levels. But is the new level a bubble as it…

Top Gaining Stocks

Cboe Global Markets
CBOE • Vol: 1,568,143
New Pluto Global
PSKY • Vol: 12,285,993
Seagate Technology
STX • Vol: 7,378,346
Oracle
ORCL • Vol: 26,317,675
Datadog
DDOG • Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ • Vol: 4,367,433
Clorox
CLX • Vol: 13,260,523
Stryker
SYK • Vol: 4,519,455
Mohawk Industries
MHK • Vol: 1,859,865
Amgen
AMGN • Vol: 3,818,618