Ugly Housing Market..... glad we're going to rent a little longer
I've been feeling like Adam is itch-ing to buy a place. When the test results came out (and I actually PASSED!!!!), I was concerned that he would be disappointed that we would be renting in the city for another year. He keeps teling me he's OK with us not buying now, since the market is in a bit of a freefall. News out today shows how tough its been.... We're OK with riding this out and waiting for some signs of a recovery before we buy --- gives us more time to save our pennies. Besides, I've been looking online and there are plenty of opportunities for us to rent a townhouse (3BR, full house - similar to what we were going to buy) in the city for less than what we pay in rent now. So, that gives us some nice housing options.
Builders slash prices 10%, but sales fall anyway
Washington (MarketWatch) - U.S. builders slashed prices by more than 10% in December in a failed bid to boost sales, which dropped about 5% to the lowest level in nearly 13 years, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The grim figures show no relief in sight for a battered building sector and are certain to be a major item on the Federal Reserve's agenda for its two-day policy-setting meeting that begins Tuesday. Sales of new homes fell 4.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 604,000 in December, far below the 645,000 expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch and the lowest sales pace since February 1995. The sales figures likely overstate the health of the building sector, since they don't include cancellations, which have soared in the past year. The median sales price tumbled a record 10.9% to $219,200 compared with November and were down 10.4% compared with a year earlier. It's the biggest year-over-year drop in the median sales price since 1970. The average sales price fell a record 11.5% to $267,300 compared with December 2006. The inventory of unsold new homes dropped to 495,000 from 502,000, but rose to a 26-year high in relation to sales, representing 9.6-months' supply at the December sales pace. Inventories don't include homes thrown back on the market due to canceled sales.
