Data on Homes Cause Jitters

[2Design]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-housing26sep26,0,2714633.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Housing prices decline nationally for the first time since 1995 and inventory sets a record. The slump poses two big threats to the economy.
By Tom Petruno, Times Staff Writer
September 26, 2006


Home prices nationwide declined last month for the first time in more than a decade, raising new concerns about the real estate slump and the damage it might do to the rest of the economy.

The 1.7% decline in the median price of existing homes sold in August was the first year-over-year drop since April 1995, the National Assn. of Realtors said Monday. Also, the number of houses sold fell for a fifth straight month and the supply of unsold homes on the market rose to a record.

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[Warpy]

1. Uh, duh

I've been pointing out for some time that our system is unsustainable, with whole industries being shipped offshore, the machinery sold as scrap, and factories being left to rot or (if they're brick) converted into yuppie warrens. Workers are being shunted into busywork service jobs with downward pressure on wages insuring they don't have the ability to save for a rainy day, much less for a house.

Housing and healthcare are our last two major domestic industries. Other industries we think of as domestic, like energy and finance, are only partially here. A major recession in either industry has the potential to take the whole country with it.

No wonder they're jittery and cutting down on the coffee won't fix it.

[AnneD]

2. This is the end result of years (since the 80's) of Wall St ...

chasing a few pennies on their dividend. What is good for WS is not always good for Main Street. Didn't do to well this quarter, claim you are going to reorganize, lay off a bunch of folks and voila WS applauds, the share gain a few pennies and the CEO gets a mega raise. Companies have forgotten that they were suppose to make widgets-not pennies on the dividend. These 'captains' of industry have forgotten how to grow a business. They have also forgotten the 'consumer' in their capatilist equations. If consumers don't have jobs, they don't have a disposable income, and people-consumers account for 2/3rds of this economy.

[barb162]

3. right on. I have also been saying this for a long, long time