Wednesday, March 23, 2011

New home sales Feb. 2011 plunge UNEXPECTEDLY to record low, analysts 'shocked'

.
3/23/11, "New Home Sales Dive to Record Low," National Journal, Clifford Marks

"The pace of new home sales plummeted to a record low last month (Feb. 2011), the Commerce Department reported Wednesday in a further sign that the battered housing market is only slumping further.

Sales fell 16.9 percent from January, delivering a shock to analysts who had expected a gain for last month. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 250,000 homes sold marks the

  • slowest pace recorded since the data series began in the 1960s.

Median sale prices fell 13.9 percent, which represents

  • the sharpest one-month drop on record.

Wednesday's numbers for February were coupled with an upward revision in January's pace from 284,000 to 301,000 homes sold. Overall, though, the bitter news seems only cement a fast darkening picture of the housing market, and it follows closely on the heels of a disappointing 9.6 percent drop in existing home sales

  • reported earlier this week."


via Drudge Report

No comments: