Home sales up, home sales down

Existing home sales are down to another record low, from the New York Times:

Sales of previously owned homes, which make up the bulk of the housing market,
dipped 1 percent in April, to an annual rate of 4.89 million, the second
consecutive month that sales have declined. That figure represents another
record low, although the report, put out by the private National Association of
Realtors, dates only to 1999.

But, on the other hand new home sales are up. From CNN:

New home sales rose unexpectedly in April but remained near historically low
levels, according to a key government report on the battered housing market.

April sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 526,000, a
Census Bureau report showed, up 3.3% from a revised 509,000 in March, but 42%
below April 2007. The reading was above the consensus forecast of 520,000,
according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

The median price of a new home sold in April was $246,100, up 1.5% from $242,500 a year earlier.

The report showed a 10.6-month supply of homes available on the market.

Perhaps all of the discounting, upgrading, and other perks offered by homebuilders are finally having some effect on new home sales.

Photo: See-Saw, originally uploaded by pittsinger.

New home sales at 16-year low

From CNN:

New home sales fell in March to the lowest level in more than 16 years,
according to a key government report on the battered housing market released
Wednesday.

March sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
526,000, the Census Bureau report showed, down 8.5% from a revised 575,000 in
February and down 36% from a year earlier. It was the lowest annual rate since
October 1991.

and:

The median price of a new home sold in March was $227,600, down 13.3% from a
year earlier. The last time the median home price fell this sharply was July
1970, when it dropped 14.6%.

and:

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was
468,000, which was down slightly from February’s 471,000.

However, at the current sales rate, it would take 11 months to sell the supply of homes on the market at the end of March.

The months-of-supply number has not been this high since September 1981.

Still more signs that real estate investors should not be expecting a turnaround in the housing market any time soon.

Photo: No Sale, originally uploaded by Something's Missing.