Home Sales Weaken (bubble starts popping?)

[ckramer]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. homes tumbled at the sharpest rate in more than a decade in November, the government said on Thursday, but a separate report showed consumers' mood still buoyant as a close to 2004 neared.

A slew of reports, issued ahead of a Friday holiday that will see government offices and U.S. financial markets closed for Christmas, painted a somewhat muddled picture of steady but unspectacular expansion.

Sales of new homes plunged 12 percent last month, the biggest drop since a 23.8 percent fall in January 1994, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.125 million units. But industry analysts played its significance down, saying applications for new mortgages still were at healthy levels.

Reuters

[Bono71]

1. Too early to tell...end of year usually is pretty slow because

of the weather, though we didn't meet expectations.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. This is the slack time in home sales

where I live, but I have been noticing two trends. One is a rise in reposessed homes, the other in homeowners unwilling to pay for termite treatments unless absolutely necessary. I'll be better able to tell if the housing bubble has burst in our area come spring, when business usually picks up.

[lovuian]

3. I saw the median house price in America is 423000 WHOAH!!!

I can really say Housing has kept up with inflation. But unfortunately this is what will push us into a depression because our wages haven't kept up with it...

[Moderator]

4. Duplicate

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