While 17.4 million people are still claiming some kind of state or federal unemployment compensation, as the delinquency rate on FHA insured mortgages hit a record 17.5% and 2.3 million mortgages are still in
Amid Wild Distortions, Housing Prices Spike, But Sales Plunge
Summary
- In March, sales of existing homes – single-family houses, condos, and co-ops – dropped by 3.7% from February after the 6.3% plunge in February from January, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.01 million homes.
- Inventory of homes for sale late last year and in January this year had plunged to a record low in the data going back to the 1980s.
- No housing market is equipped to handle the perversity of vacant homes being used as leveraged investment vehicles to generate capital gains just by sitting there.
Wolf Richter is the analyst at, and the publisher of, WOLF STREET, where he discusses business, finance, and money. Core focus: Federal Reserve, credits, equities, residential and commercial real estate, the auto industry, trade, consumers, and energy. He started this operation in 2011. Prior to that, he worked for 20 years in C-level positions, including 10 years in the auto industry. MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.