WP: New Data, New Record In a Housing Market That Defies Predictions [View All]

[DeepModem Mom]

New Data, New Record In a Housing Market That Defies Predictions
By Sandra Fleishman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 25, 2005; Page D01


....On Tuesday, some analysts said the boom was definitively going south, based on a report from the National Association of Realtors that sales of existing homes slipped 2.6 percent from June to July.

Yesterday, however, the Commerce Department reported that new-home sales hit a record high in July, up 6.5 percent from June. That sent some pontificators the opposite way, saying the boom lives on....

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Some who have been predicting a gradual slowing of the robust housing market rather than a dramatic pop say they remain upbeat because mortgage rates are holding steady and because July's dip in existing-home sales was small and its jump in new-home sales strong....

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Analysts who have been seeing darker clouds ahead, however, say the reports do not allay their fears. They cite not only the drop in sales of previously owned homes but also data showing an increase in inventory of such homes, to the highest level since 2003, and a 5 percent drop in sales of condos.

And they note that the Commerce Department yesterday found that median sales prices of new homes had fallen for the third time in a row, to the lowest since December 2003....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/24/AR2005082400437.html