Cooling Housing Market

July 21, 2006 – 11:45 am

Across the country the market seems to weakening. Some areas are reporting inventory up to five times the year-earlier level. This is forcing sellers across the nation to slash prices. In most area it is a return to normalcy but in some areas like Orlando and Phoenix, things are expected to get worse before the get better. Ivy Zelman, a housing analyst, has referred to Phoenix as "total bloodbath." Orlando has reported the biggest surge in inventory and home prices are down between 3-7 percent from just a year ago. Some homebuilders are offering buyer agent commissions up to 10 percent. William Wheaton, a housing economist at MIT, thinks we could be in for five to ten years of flat home prices.

By admin | Posted in home builders, home inventory, home prices, housing market | Comments (0)

2006 New Homes Starts Up

February 16, 2006 – 8:21 am

January pace of housing starts tops forecasts

Incoming Federal Reserve Chairman Ted Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that "a number of indicators point to a slowing in the housing market." And, "given the substantial gains in house prices and the high levels of home construction activity over the past several years, prices and construction could decelerate more rapidly than currently seems likely."

Most forecasters expect the housing market will avoid a catastrophic crash. Ed Leamer, director of the UCLA business forecast, said  "It’s going to be a buyer’s market not a seller’s market — possibly  for a long period of time,"

Despite Bernanke’s and Leamer’s remarks and widespread prognostications of a housing market slowdown, January saw the highest level of housing starts in over 32 years. The Census Bureau’s newest report showed that new homes construction is at an annual pace of 2.28 million homes.

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By admin | Posted in Homes For Sale, buyers' market, home builders, home values, house prices, housing bubble, housing market, new homes, sellers market | Comments (0)