Sales of previously occupied homes fell in June and are expected to keep sinking, indicating that the housing market’s troubles are likely to drag on the economic recovery.
AP
Existing home sales in June fell and are expected to keep sinking
Sales fell 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.37 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had expected sales of 5.18 million.
The report counts home sales once a deal closes. Last month’s report captured some buyers receiving federal tax credits of up to $8,000 that boosted sales this year. Buyers initially had to close their purchases by June 30, but Congress extended the deadline to the end of September.
Since the tax credits expired, the number of people buying homes has fallen sharply, despite lower prices and the lowest mortgage rates in decades. The situation has been worsened by high unemployment, tight lending standards and rising foreclosures.
“Economic uncertainty is clouding that buying opportunity,” said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist. “It’s still a fragile situation in the housing market.”
As sales have slowed, the inventory of unsold homes on the market has risen 2.5 percent to nearly 4 million. That’s a nearly nine-month supply at the current sales pace, the highest level since August. It compares with a healthy level of about six months.
Sales are likely to keep falling for three to four months, Yun said. That would likely boost the supply of unsold homes to more than 10 months for the first time since the spring of 2009. And it could push down home prices.
Sales have climbed 19 percent from the low of 4.5 million hit in January 2009 —the lowest level of the recession. But they are still down 26 percent from the peak—7.25 million in September 2005.
The drop in June sales was led by a more than 9 percent decline from a month earlier in the West. Sales were down 7.5 percent in the Midwest and down 6.5 percent in the South. But they rose nearly 8 percent in the Northeast.
The median sale price was $183,700, up 1 percent from a year earlier.
The Short Sale Doctors, Realtors, and Stewardship Properties partner together for successful short sales. See YOU & US.
~ Why Agents LOVE Our Service ~
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Together We Create 6 WINS…
A Win/Win/Win/Win/Win/Win Situation!
1. A WIN for the Seller: Relieve over-leveraged homeowners from the pain of foreclosure and having their credit report badly damaged. They can now start a new chapter in their life.
2. A WIN for the Lender: Our packets go to the lender in perfect order so that they can process and negotiate the short sale in the most streamlined way possible. A successful short sale brings them greater financial return than the alternatives of an auction or REO sale.
3. A WIN for the Realtor: Collect a FULL commission and do what you do best–buying and selling real estate. By using our services you will not get bogged down with the paperwork, calls and interactions with overwhelmed loss mitigation departments. When we buy the house (over half the time), agents can receive even more commission.
4. A WIN for Us: We seek to get paid a loss mitigation fee from the short sale lender. In many cases we end by purchasing the home ourselves and making a larger profit margin from a subsequent sale.
5. A WIN for the new Buyer: Now that the property’s price has been appropriately discounted for the market, it is much easier to attract a new homeowner.
6. A WIN for our City & Country: In a small way we hope to contribute to healing our nation of the debilitating financial crisis brought upon by the increasing foreclosure rate. This will revitalize our economy and lead the world out of a damaging recession.
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Kind Words We Appreciate…
The Short Sale Doctors & Stewardship Properties’ staff,
Scott and I want to thank you all for the incredible work you did on the short sale of our home.
The months surrounding our looming foreclosure date were filled with a lot of doubt, fear, and anxiety. The moment I spoke with Margo, we were convinced to give Stewardship’s services a shot. It saved our financial future and our sanity. The shortsale process was unbelievably simple for us as homeowners in comparison to the months of struggling to communicate with our mortgage holder.
Jered did a phenomenal job of keeping us updated on the status of the settlement process. Every member of the Stewardship Properties’ team treated us with utmost respect, kindness and empathy through one of the most difficult times in our life. Our time was running out, foreclosure was closing in, and Stewardship Properties rescued us with time to spare.
We are very grateful for all of you, what you stand for, and the work you do.
