Буржуй
01-25-2008, 04:12 AM
By Alan J. Heavens
Inquirer Real Estate Writer
Sales of existing homes nationally fell 12.8 percent in 2007 from 2006, the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday. December sales were off 2.2 percent from November, but down 22 percent from December 2006 - the largest annual decline in a quarter century.> Preliminary figures for 2007 showed the median sale price of a single-family home fell 1.4 percent, to $218,900 from $221,900 in 2006, the Realtors' group said.
> Once again, however, the Philadelphia region appeared to have fared slightly better than the nation as a whole. Sales here declined 11.1 percent in 2007 from 2006, while prices rose 1.8 percent, to $229,000 from $224,900, according to Prudential Fox & Roach's HomExpert Market Report, which analyzes information provided by the Trend Multiple Listing Service.
> Some counties did better than others. Median prices in Delaware County climbed 8.1 percent, for example, while Bucks County prices dropped 0.3 percent, the HomExpert data show.
> Median price is the middle number, with half the homes selling for more and half selling for less. The median can rise, for example, if more high-priced homes sell in one period than did in the previous period.
> December's national drop in sales "was disappointing, since sales in October and November were almost unchanged, and since long-term mortgage rates fell about 17 basis points in both November and December," said housing economist Patrick Newport, of Global Insight Inc., of Lexington, Mass.
> Local numbers "pretty close to what we saw in the nation" surprised Joel Naroff, chief economist for Commerce Bancorp Inc., of Cherry Hill.
> "We have seen a slowing in sales, though I didn't think it was nearly as bad as the nation as a whole," Naroff said. "I guess that means Philadelphia is now average, which I guess is not that bad. Compared with a lot of other major metro areas, I assume we did reasonably well."
> Art Herling, regional vice president for Long & Foster Real Estate, shrugged off the doom-and-gloom reports, calling the market "one of opportunity for consumers
agents/builders/investors."> "I'm busier than I've ever been in the 27 years I've sold real estate," Herling said. "I'm buying and I'm selling and refinancing. How can you not, with rates at 53
8 percent?"> With great trepidation, Bill and Jean Starrett recently put their Lansdale home on the market, because they had moved to a retirement community. To their surprise, the house sold in a week - though the Starretts did drop the price from $375,000 to $325,000.
> "Now, I have to figure out what to do with 46 years of stuff we've collected - in the 30 days till the house goes to settlement," said Bill Starrett, 85, an insurance agent.
> And the market's current state has not stopped buyers like condo owner Liza Tedeschi, who is seriously shopping for another place to live in Center City, though she declined to name her price.
> "I've been looking for such a long time for a place in Rittenhouse Square," said Tedeschi, who is in her 30s. "I'm now even looking at new construction."
> Better interest rates are not "a deciding factor," she said, "but it is encouraging."
> Weakness in the housing market continued to push down long-term mortgage rates yesterday, with the 30-year fixed dropping to 5.48 percent, Freddie Mac reported. The rate has not been this low since March 25, 2004, when it was at 5.40 percent, said Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft.
> The decline in fixed rates has boosted mortgage-application activity the last three weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported, with refinancing accounting for 66 percent of the applications received.
> Lenders and mortgage brokers cautioned, however, that the low fixed rates are typically available only to buyers who can put 20 percent down or have at least 20 percent equity in their homes if they are refinancing.
> On Monday, the Census Bureau is to release national figures for December sales of new homes.
> Yesterday, National Association of Home Builders president Brian Catalde urged Congress to "make housing incentives a key part of any economic-stimulus package."
> Stocks of some publicly traded home builders rose after the Fed lowered short-term rates Tuesday, because the action reduced the cost of carrying mortgages on thousands of unsold homes.
> In 2007, according to existing-home data for the eight-county Philadelphia region obtained from HomExpert, 75,856 homes sold, compared with 85,302 in 2006. Average monthly inventory of homes for sale was 59,165, compared with 54,009 in 2006.
> The average number of days a home remained on the market increased from 54 in 2006 to 65 last year.
> The city had the region's highest number of home sales in 2007 - 16,986, an 11.9 percent drop from 2006, the HomExpert numbers show. The median sale price rose a scant 0.7 percent.
> Kevin Gillen, vice president of Econsult of Philadelphia and a research fellow at Wharton, said yesterday that because this region had lagged behind national price and sales-volume trends for the last several years, 2008 will be the year in which we find out whether the local market has a hard or soft landing.
> If the region does have a hard landing, Gillen said, "it's because it truly is a national bubble-burst that takes us down with it, rather than being due to our own intrinsic problems."
>
Contact real estate writer Alan J. Heavens at 215-854-2472 or [email protected] (http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20080125_In_07__home_sales_in_U_S__fell_12_8_.html ?adString=inq.business/mailto:[email protected]).>
http://images.clickability.com/pti/spacer.gif
Find this article at:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20080125_In_07__home_sales_in_U_S__fell_12_8_.html ?adString=inq.business/business;!category=business;&randomOrd=012508020956
Inquirer Real Estate Writer
Sales of existing homes nationally fell 12.8 percent in 2007 from 2006, the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday. December sales were off 2.2 percent from November, but down 22 percent from December 2006 - the largest annual decline in a quarter century.> Preliminary figures for 2007 showed the median sale price of a single-family home fell 1.4 percent, to $218,900 from $221,900 in 2006, the Realtors' group said.
> Once again, however, the Philadelphia region appeared to have fared slightly better than the nation as a whole. Sales here declined 11.1 percent in 2007 from 2006, while prices rose 1.8 percent, to $229,000 from $224,900, according to Prudential Fox & Roach's HomExpert Market Report, which analyzes information provided by the Trend Multiple Listing Service.
> Some counties did better than others. Median prices in Delaware County climbed 8.1 percent, for example, while Bucks County prices dropped 0.3 percent, the HomExpert data show.
> Median price is the middle number, with half the homes selling for more and half selling for less. The median can rise, for example, if more high-priced homes sell in one period than did in the previous period.
> December's national drop in sales "was disappointing, since sales in October and November were almost unchanged, and since long-term mortgage rates fell about 17 basis points in both November and December," said housing economist Patrick Newport, of Global Insight Inc., of Lexington, Mass.
> Local numbers "pretty close to what we saw in the nation" surprised Joel Naroff, chief economist for Commerce Bancorp Inc., of Cherry Hill.
> "We have seen a slowing in sales, though I didn't think it was nearly as bad as the nation as a whole," Naroff said. "I guess that means Philadelphia is now average, which I guess is not that bad. Compared with a lot of other major metro areas, I assume we did reasonably well."
> Art Herling, regional vice president for Long & Foster Real Estate, shrugged off the doom-and-gloom reports, calling the market "one of opportunity for consumers
agents/builders/investors."> "I'm busier than I've ever been in the 27 years I've sold real estate," Herling said. "I'm buying and I'm selling and refinancing. How can you not, with rates at 53
8 percent?"> With great trepidation, Bill and Jean Starrett recently put their Lansdale home on the market, because they had moved to a retirement community. To their surprise, the house sold in a week - though the Starretts did drop the price from $375,000 to $325,000.
> "Now, I have to figure out what to do with 46 years of stuff we've collected - in the 30 days till the house goes to settlement," said Bill Starrett, 85, an insurance agent.
> And the market's current state has not stopped buyers like condo owner Liza Tedeschi, who is seriously shopping for another place to live in Center City, though she declined to name her price.
> "I've been looking for such a long time for a place in Rittenhouse Square," said Tedeschi, who is in her 30s. "I'm now even looking at new construction."
> Better interest rates are not "a deciding factor," she said, "but it is encouraging."
> Weakness in the housing market continued to push down long-term mortgage rates yesterday, with the 30-year fixed dropping to 5.48 percent, Freddie Mac reported. The rate has not been this low since March 25, 2004, when it was at 5.40 percent, said Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft.
> The decline in fixed rates has boosted mortgage-application activity the last three weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported, with refinancing accounting for 66 percent of the applications received.
> Lenders and mortgage brokers cautioned, however, that the low fixed rates are typically available only to buyers who can put 20 percent down or have at least 20 percent equity in their homes if they are refinancing.
> On Monday, the Census Bureau is to release national figures for December sales of new homes.
> Yesterday, National Association of Home Builders president Brian Catalde urged Congress to "make housing incentives a key part of any economic-stimulus package."
> Stocks of some publicly traded home builders rose after the Fed lowered short-term rates Tuesday, because the action reduced the cost of carrying mortgages on thousands of unsold homes.
> In 2007, according to existing-home data for the eight-county Philadelphia region obtained from HomExpert, 75,856 homes sold, compared with 85,302 in 2006. Average monthly inventory of homes for sale was 59,165, compared with 54,009 in 2006.
> The average number of days a home remained on the market increased from 54 in 2006 to 65 last year.
> The city had the region's highest number of home sales in 2007 - 16,986, an 11.9 percent drop from 2006, the HomExpert numbers show. The median sale price rose a scant 0.7 percent.
> Kevin Gillen, vice president of Econsult of Philadelphia and a research fellow at Wharton, said yesterday that because this region had lagged behind national price and sales-volume trends for the last several years, 2008 will be the year in which we find out whether the local market has a hard or soft landing.
> If the region does have a hard landing, Gillen said, "it's because it truly is a national bubble-burst that takes us down with it, rather than being due to our own intrinsic problems."
>
Contact real estate writer Alan J. Heavens at 215-854-2472 or [email protected] (http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20080125_In_07__home_sales_in_U_S__fell_12_8_.html ?adString=inq.business/mailto:[email protected]).>
http://images.clickability.com/pti/spacer.gif
Find this article at:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20080125_In_07__home_sales_in_U_S__fell_12_8_.html ?adString=inq.business/business;!category=business;&randomOrd=012508020956