Economic Uncertainty Leads to Fall in Home Sales, NAR Says

Existing-home sales declined on the heels of a strong gain in September as uncertainty and economic concerns increased in October, according to the ""National Association of Realtors"":http://www.realtor.org (NAR).
The latest market report released yesterday by NAR shows existing-home sales - including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops - fell 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million units in October. That's down from 5.14 million in September, and is 1.6 percent below the 5.06 million-unit level in October 2007.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said consumer hesitation is understandable. ""Many potential home buyers appear to have withdrawn from the market due to the stock market collapse and deteriorating economic conditions,"" he said. ""We have favorable affordability conditions, but we need more than that to give buyers with jobs the confidence they need.
""This is why a housing stimulus is so critical now to encourage more buyers to draw down the inventory and stabilize home prices. Without home price stabilization, there will not be an economic recovery,"" Yun warned.
Total housing inventory at the end of October slipped 0.9 percent to 4.23 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 10.2-month supply at the current sales pace, NAR said. That calculation is up slightly from a 10.0-month supply in September.
According to ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.20 percent in October from 6.04 percent in September; the rate was 6.38 percent in October 2007. ""Mortgage interest rates have been moving up and down in a historically low range, with the fixed rate down to 6.04 percent last week,"" Yun noted.
Even with the overall decline, Yun identified a number of areas with solid sales gains from a year ago, including many California and Florida markets, as well as Boston, Minneapolis, and Denver.
Based on NAR's market data, regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast slipped 1.2 percent to an annual pace of 830,000 in October, and are 9.8 percent lower than a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was recorded at $241,700, down 9.8 percent from October 2007.
Existing-home sales in the West eased by 1.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.21 million in October but are 37.5 percent higher than October 2007. The median price in the West was $231,400, down 27.0 percent from a year ago, the association said.
In the South, NAR said existing-home sales declined 3.2 percent to an annual pace of 1.84 million in October, and are 10.2 percent below a year ago. The median price in the South was $161,100, which is 5.8 percent lower than October 2007.
Existing-home sales in the Midwest fell 6.0 percent in October to a pace of 1.10 million and remain 9.1 percent below October 2007. The median price in the Midwest was $149,400, down 6.7 percent from a year ago, NAR reported.