November new home sales sink 11 percent By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer WASHINGTON Sales of new homes plunged unexpectedly last month to the lowest level since April, a sign the housing market recovery will be rocky and heavily dependent on the generosity of Uncle Sam.
The 11 percent slump from October's pace shows that consumers are taking their time following an extension of a deadline for first-time buyers to qualify for a tax credit. The incentive was set to expire at the end of November, but Congress pushed back the date to April 30 and expanded the program to include current homeowners who relocate. "They don't have to act today," said David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, who called the results "pretty awful." New home sales data, released Wednesday, are a better indicator of future real estate activity than sales of previously occupied homes, but capture a smaller slice of the market. The new home figures tally sales agreements signed in November, while home resale numbers reflect contracts signed over the summer that were completed the same month.... Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091223/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_new_home_sales http://tinyurl.com/yz7w466 --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex" <do.rf...@...> wrote: > > Federal programs designed to jump start the housing market helped boost sales > of previously owned homes to their highest level since February 2007 and > whittle down the excess supply of homes on the market in November. > > The National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday that sales of > existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and cooperatives rose > 7.4 percent in November from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted > annual rate of 6.54 million homes. > > Sales were up 44 percent from a year ago, the highest annual gain since the > group started tracking the data in 1999. > > Full article here: http://snipurl.com/tti4w [www_washingtonpost_com] >
