Monday, August 25, 2008

NAR - "July Existing-Home Sales Show Gain" (8-25-08)

"Existing-home sales rose in July to the highest level in five months, although sales have hovered in a relatively narrow range over the past 11 months, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate¹ of 5.00 million units in July from a downwardly revised level of 4.85 million in June, but are 13.2 percent lower than the 5.76 million-unit pace in July 2007."

CAR - "C.A.R. July 2008 Sales and Price Report " (8-25-08)

"Home sales increased 43.4 percent in July in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 40.3 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today."

Bloomberg - "Los Angeles, San Diego Luxury-Home Prices Fall Most in Decade" (8-25-08)

"Luxury-home prices in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas fell the most in more than 10 years in the second quarter as stricter lending terms reduced the number of buyers, while the San Francisco Bay area was little changed. The average price of a luxury home in Los Angeles dropped 3.8 percent in the quarter from a year earlier, the most since 1996, according to a survey by First Republic Bank, a unit of Merrill Lynch & Co. Luxury homes were defined as those costing more than $1 million with up to 6,000 square feet (557 square meters), six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Prices fell 7.8 percent in San Diego, the most since 1997, while San Francisco prices rose 0.2 percent."

Bloomberg - "Housing Rebound Unlikely Before 2009, HUD Chief Says" (8-25-08)

"A slowdown in home sales and a drop in prices has contributed to record foreclosures as borrowers struggle to meet their monthly mortgage payments. Preston said a foreclosure- prevention law Congress passed last month also will be important in aiding mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are supporting most new mortgages. U.S. banks repossessed almost three times as many U.S. homes in July as a year earlier and the number of properties at risk of foreclosure jumped 55 percent, California-based RealtyTrac Inc. said in an Aug. 14 report."

Bloomberg - "Freddie, Fannie Drop Dims Prospects of New Investors" (8-25-08)

"The cost to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae of raising capital is getting more prohibitive by the day, making it likely that the government will have to inject cash into the largest U.S. mortgage-finance companies. Declines in the common stocks of the government-chartered companies accelerated last week to more than 90 percent for the year and yields on their preferred shares more than doubled on speculation Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson may need to bail them out, reducing or wiping out the value of the securities."

Bloomberg - "O.C. demand to buy homes doubles" (8-25-08)

"Demand (homes put into new escrows) is up 103% in a year. Fresh pending sales from the past month rose 51 in two weeks to 2,991. One year ago, demand was 1,475 after dropping by 329 pending sales in just two weeks."

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