More House Price/Sales Declines [Housing Tracker]

Quote of the Day

“The message is that last month's big rise was not the signal that the market is starting to turn around. We've had a big correction this month.'' - Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight, on the poor showing for the National Association of Realtors pending home sales data.  (Bloomberg, July 8^th) 

House Sales/Price Data

Home Prices Weaken In June.  “Greater Nashville Association of Realtors: The median price of a single-family home fell 6% last month… Home values are starting to decline in even the most stable real estate markets elsewhere in the country, from Charlotte, N.C., to Dallas, Home sales here remained down about 28% from a year ago... A total of 2,591 single-family homes, condos, multifamily buildings, farms and lots were sold last month, compared with 4,060… in June 2006… Local broker Mark Dobberstein: Much of the price-cutting that has occurred has been from homebuilders, who are under pressure to reduce inventory.”  (The Tennessean, July 10^th) 

Median Home Price In Region Falls 14.5%. “Eastern Connecticut Association of Realtors: A median-priced single-family home in southeastern Connecticut cost $40,000 less this year than the year before. [In] New London and Windham counties, the median price of a single-family home in the region was $235,000 in Q2’08, off more than 14.5% from Q2’07. Q2’07’s median price was $275,000; the median had been $245,000 in Q1’08… Another bright side is that median condominium prices were up 6.7% from last year. The median Q1’08 condo price stood at $192,000, compared with $179,900 a year earlier and $179,700 in the previous quarter.”  (The Connecticut Day, July 9^th)

Home Sales Up In Washtenaw County, But Prices And Number Of Listings Drop. Washtenaw County, Michigan: “Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors: A total of 1,751 homes and condos were sold here during H1’08. That's up 3.1% from H1’07. Meanwhile, listings dropped nearly 29% to 6,080… The median home sale price through June was $190,000, down from $211,000 at the midway point of 2007 and down from $225,250 in 2006. The average sale price fell to $223,082 from $246,269 in 2007 and $267,505 in 2006. Local real estate agents say home sale prices have come down in part due to brisk short sales and foreclosures.”  (M Live, July 9^th)

New York Housing Market Sales Pace Improves, Median Price Holds.  “Sales of existing single-family homes in New York State in May outpaced April by nearly 12%, with more than 80% of New York's reporting counties seeing an increase in sales, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of Realtors.”  (Putnam County News and Recorder, July 9^th) 

Condo Median Price Sets Record, Comes In Higher Than Single Family Price.  Greater Nashville Association of Realtors: For the first time in the city's history, the median price of condominiums surpassed the median price of single family homes in Nashville. Realtors say that's because many downtown condos, which cost more and are more upscale than others in Nashville, closed in June. The median prices for a home in June was $183,615 and the median price of a condo was $185,500. That’s a 6% drop in home prices from $196,000 last June, but a 19% increase in condo prices from $155,800.”   (Nashville Business Journal, July 9^th) 

For-Sale Inventory, Days On Market Higher In June.  “Listings inventories increased in 17 of 26 markets tracked by Altos Research & Real IQ during June, while average days on market was up in 19 of 26 markets. Los Angeles and San Diego saw the largest jumps in inventory -- 8.7% and 6.1%,  respectively -- and Miami had the slowest rate of turnover with an average of 154 days on market… Asking prices declined in only 11 of 26 markets… Q2’08 prices in Las Vegas fell by 7.2%... an annualized rate of more than 28%. Prices increased in 15 of 26 markets, with Denver leading the way with a 2.6% increase in June.”  (Inman News, July 9^th)

Three Pierce County Areas Still Seeing Home Price Jumps.  Washington: “Though Pierce County’s median home price declined year-over-year in June, a breakdown of areas around the county show that a few stood out from the crowd with price increases, according to Northwest MLS numbers released Monday. (The countywide median price was $259,250, a 6.6% year-over-year decline.)”  (News Tribune, July 9^th)

Pending Home Sales Weaken in May.  “National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index: Fewer buyers signed contracts to buy an existing home in May. The indicator dipped 4.2 points to a reading of 84.7. That represents a 13.8 point drop from May 2007.”  (Builder Online, July 8^th) 

King County Home Sales Edge Up In June As Lower Prices Lure First-Time Buyers.  Northwest Multiple Listing Service: Although Puget Sound-area home sales are still far below year-ago volumes, they inched up last month, thanks to buyers like Ian Hoyt. A first-timer, Hoyt joined 2,549 others who made successful offers on King County homes in June. Last month's sales also continued a depressed price trend, with houses in the county selling for 4.3% less than in June 2007, although they are showing signs of rebounding.”  (Seattle Times, July 8^th) 

NY's Price Per Square Foot Declines.  “Radar Logic's RPX monthly housing market report: Metropolitan New York saw a 3% decline in average price per square foot [PPSF] in April as compared to last year. The average PPSF was up 2%, however, since March. The condo market had a 16.3% increase sales volume since March, but despite the increase, condo prices declined 0.7%. Of the 25 cities examined, 23 saw declines in PPSF.”  (The Real Deal, July 7^th)

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