Home sales stabilized last month after plunging in July, data released Thursday morning showed. þþThe National Association of Realtors said that August sales were 4.13 million on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, down 19 percent from August 2009 but up 7.6 percent from the previous month. þþThe sales level matched expectations. Few analysts had predicted the carnage in July, which stemmed from the expiration of a tax credit for buyers. July sales were the lowest for any month in 15 years. þþSlumping sales are pushing down prices, which some indexes show are already starting to fall again. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported this week that its home price index dropped 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in July from June. The index is down 3.3 percent over the last year. þþNational housing indexes are down about 30 percent from their peak. Moody’s Analytics revised its expectation for housing prices last week, saying they will drop another 8 percent. Previously, Moody’s had only expected a 5 percent drop. It said the bottom for housing will be reached in about a year. þþOne strong effect on prices will be the supply of homes on the market. Supply declined slightly in August but is still at an elevated level. It takes about year to sell a house, the Realtors’ group said. That is more than double the time in a healthy market. þþ
Source: NY Times
