Housing's End?
Today's on-line version of the Wall Street Journal had this to say about the housing market (sorry no link.)
Housing's End?
By MARK GONGLOFF
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
The sawing and hammering of new-home construction in the U.S. quieted significantly in October, convincing many economists that a long-running housing boom is finally waning.
Housing starts dropped 5.6% last month, the Commerce Department said, though the annualized rate of home construction stayed at an historically high level of more than two million units. Still, it was the biggest one-month drop since March, and building permits, a leading indicator of construction activity, sank 6.7%, the sharpest decline in more than six years. The report follows a chain of evidence, in anecdotes and in hard numbers, hinting that some of the froth is finally coming out of the housing market. As 30-year mortgage rates have risen sharply, to nearly two-year highs, mortgage applications have slowed down. New home prices have fallen, the backlog of unsold homes has grown in several markets as houses have taken longer to sell, and the rental market has shown signs of new life. Not surprisingly, home builders have lost confidence lately, according to surveys, and today's report was evidence that they are cooling their nail guns.
Also, here is a reaction posted in the Journal from a Merril Lynch economist.
"While one month does not make a trend, forward-looking indicators were not that encouraging, in our opinion. Building permits were weak across the board as well, falling by nearly 7%, with declines in both singles and multis and most regions across the country. Backlogs tapered as well. Yesterday's homebuilders' sentiment index for November suggested that demand may be faltering as the index hit an 18-month low and prospective buyer traffic waned. The purchase component of the MBA index has recovered so far in November but is barely above the October average."
-- David Rosenberg, Merrill Lynch
Housing's End?
By MARK GONGLOFF
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
The sawing and hammering of new-home construction in the U.S. quieted significantly in October, convincing many economists that a long-running housing boom is finally waning.
Housing starts dropped 5.6% last month, the Commerce Department said, though the annualized rate of home construction stayed at an historically high level of more than two million units. Still, it was the biggest one-month drop since March, and building permits, a leading indicator of construction activity, sank 6.7%, the sharpest decline in more than six years. The report follows a chain of evidence, in anecdotes and in hard numbers, hinting that some of the froth is finally coming out of the housing market. As 30-year mortgage rates have risen sharply, to nearly two-year highs, mortgage applications have slowed down. New home prices have fallen, the backlog of unsold homes has grown in several markets as houses have taken longer to sell, and the rental market has shown signs of new life. Not surprisingly, home builders have lost confidence lately, according to surveys, and today's report was evidence that they are cooling their nail guns.
Also, here is a reaction posted in the Journal from a Merril Lynch economist.
"While one month does not make a trend, forward-looking indicators were not that encouraging, in our opinion. Building permits were weak across the board as well, falling by nearly 7%, with declines in both singles and multis and most regions across the country. Backlogs tapered as well. Yesterday's homebuilders' sentiment index for November suggested that demand may be faltering as the index hit an 18-month low and prospective buyer traffic waned. The purchase component of the MBA index has recovered so far in November but is barely above the October average."
-- David Rosenberg, Merrill Lynch
posted by Little_Silvered at 6:50 PM
4 Comments:
The crash is at hand.
Wait for the the blood to spill.
Then swoop in and lowball.
Excuse me! Houses don't go down. You don't know nothing. Hello!
Have a nice day.
NJ Realtor™
Houses don't go down, only prices.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Tell that to the masses that followed your advice to buy at any price. In a year or 7 years from now when they lose money on their guaranteed investment.
Trust your own common sense not a greedy industry.
If it sounds to good to be true then it is.
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