LOS
ANGELES (By Jesus Sanchez, LATimes) July 25, 2007 — The pace of nationwide
existing-home sales sank in June to the lowest in level in more than four
years, as many buyers remained on the sidelines and the housing market
indicated it remained far from staging a turnaround.
Sales of existing homes and condominiums dropped a larger-than-expected 3.8%
from May, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million properties,
the National Assn. of Realtors said today. June's pace was the lowest in
more than four years and was down 11.4% compared with the same month last
year.
The NAR noted some promising signs, however, including a minor decline in
the inventory of unsold homes and the first year-over-year gain in median
sales price in 11 months. The national median sales price for existing homes
in June was $230,100, up 0.3% from the same period last year.
But buyers remained cautious and most economists remained gloomy about
housing in light of the bust in the sub-prime mortgage market and
skyrocketing foreclosure activity. On Tuesday, the head of the nation's
largest mortgage lender, Calabasas-based Countrywide Financial, said he did
not expect a recovery until 2009.
"Home buyers have been getting mixed signals about the housing market, which
is causing some of them to hesitate," Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist,
said in a statement. "Although general buying conditions remain favorable
for long-term home buyers, it appears some buyers are looking for more signs
of stability before they have enough confidence to make an offer."
Ian Shepherdson, an economist for the consulting firm High Frequency
Economics, was more blunt about the June sales results: "This is just
horrible.
"Housing is contracting at an accelerating pace, taking out with a vengeance
the brief stabilization at the turn of the year, when mild weather and
plunging gas prices supported activity," Shepherdson said in a research
note.
Regionally, the West reported a 6.8% drop in existing-home sales in June.
Sales dropped 1.7% in the South, 2.8% in the Midwest and 7.3% in the East.
