Category Archives: Housing
Duck! Watch out for falling home prices
Les Christie, staff writer, On Thursday February 25, 2010, 10:08 am EST
Despite signs that the real estate market might be lurching forward, prices are expected to fall further this year and next.
The average home price in the United States will fall by about 6% by September 2011, according to a joint report between Fiserv and [...]
January home sales fall 7.2 percent
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer
WASHINGTON – Sales of previously occupied homes took a large drop for the second straight month in January, falling to the lowest level since summer. It was another sign the housing market’s recovery is faltering.
The National Association of Realtors said sales fell 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted [...]
New home sales hit record low in January
MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON – Sales of new homes plunged to a record low in January, underscoring the formidable challenges facing the housing industry as it tries to recover from the worst slump in decades.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales dropped 11.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual [...]
December home sales down nearly 17 percent
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer
WASHINGTON – Sales of previously occupied homes took the largest monthly drop in more than 40 years last month, sinking more dramatically than expected after lawmakers gave buyers additional time to use a tax credit.
The report reflects a sharp drop in demand after buyers stopped scrambling to qualify [...]
Pending home sales fall 16 percent in Nov.
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer
WASHINGTON – The number of people preparing to buy a home in November fell sharply in the latest sign that the housing market, which had been rebounding strongly, may be headed for a “double-dip” downturn over the winter.
Consumers are taking their time following the extension of a tax [...]
What Recovery? U.S. Consumers Getting “Dramatically Worse,” Howard Davidowitz Says
Posted Dec 01, 2009 07:30am EST by Aaron Task
According to the National Retail Federation, retail sales over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend were $41.2 billion, up slightly from a year ago, while about 195 million consumers shopped, up from 172 million last year.
Meanwhile, Coremetrics says the average online shopper spent 35% more on Black Friday [...]
Housing 1 in 4 Borrowers Under Water
By RUTH SIMON and JAMES R. HAGERTY
The proportion of U.S. homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than the properties are worth has swelled to about 23%, threatening prospects for a sustained housing recovery.
Nearly 10.7 million households had negative equity in their homes in the third quarter, according to First American CoreLogic, a real-estate information [...]
South Florida home buyers leery about Chinese drywall
By Paul Owers
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Home buyers in South Florida are petrified of tainted Chinese drywall.
rule out entire neighborhoods or houses and condos built within the past seven years. Others don’t want anything to do with builders known to have used Chinese drywall. And buyers who do sign contracts seek [...]
Court-ordered Chinese drywall inspections begin
ALLISON ROSS
PALM BEACH POST Homeowners’ efforts to get relief from their Chinese drywall problems are moving ahead as court-appointed inspectors began examining a handful of affected properties this week.
A house in the Cobblestone Creek subdivision west of Boynton Beach will be inspected next week. It and 14 other Florida homes will help set a protocol [...]
Tainted drywall a top issue, says new Consumer Product Safety Commission chairman
LESLEY CLARK
The Miami Herald
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers from Florida and Louisiana Thursday pressed new Consumer Product Safety Commission chairman Inez Tenenbaum for answers to the Chinese drywall problem plaguing thousands of homeowners in their states.
Tenenbaum – who took over the agency in June – pledged to lawmakers that the agency will “vigorously pursue its investigation” into [...]