The National Association of Realtors released the March Pending Home Sales Index report this morning. It can be found here:
March Pending Home Sales Index(PDF)
Nationwide pending sales were down 6% year over year for March. YOY declines were seen across the U.S., Northeast down 1.1%, Midwest down 9.3%, South down 1.6%, West down 13.3%.
From Reuters:
U.S. March pending home sales index down 1.2 pct
Pending sales of U.S. homes edged lower in March, signaling weaker sales ahead, as rising mortgage rates weigh on the market, a trade group said on Tuesday.
The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in March, stood at 116.2 in March, down 1.2 percent from February and 6 percent below a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.
It was also weaker than Wall Street expected. Economists had pegged the index at 117 for March.
A realtor got mad when I said to her that “These houses aren’t moving as they used to”
Her reply was something along the lines of “But this house is close to NYC transportation”
Gotta love realtors!
Lavid Diarrhea released numbers that show a decline? Where is the spin?
right you are!
Spin:
“Home sales rebounded from the slide that started last fall, but the pending sales data is showing a dampening effect from rising mortgage interest rates that have been trending up since January,” said David Lereah, the Realtors’ chief economist.
“This means a modest slowing can be expected in the sales pace in the months ahead, although the market will hold at historically strong levels,” he said.
i love how everyone tries to blame the slowdown on higher interest rates. wrong. where there’s a will there’s an exotic mortgage to match. the market is simply exhausting itself after an amazing run-up. while rate rises don’t help, that’s not what’s killing it.
Does anyone really believe any numbers from this trade group, whether good or bad? i certainly don’t.
I did not catch that. Thanks grim, I thought that hell froze over.
The NAR spin machine working overtime.
Sickening group.
…showing a dampening effect from rising mortgage interest rates
Of course, it’s just higher mortgage rates. It has nothing at all to do with ridiculously overpriced homes. Nothing to see here. Please disperse.
Housing Prices Ripoff
Lots and lots and lots of FSBO sign. hehehehehe To LATE!
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba BOYCOTT HOUSES
Booooooyaaaaaaaaa
Bob
1.2% is not a significant drop. Maybe there are still folks buying houses.
It will be good to know what are the state in NNJ.
Here’s a nice one in Mendham Borough:
“ADJUSTED PRICE!! Open House Sun.4/30/2006 1-5pm”
MLS 2213784
Original List Price: $ 799,000
Current List Price: $599,000
Days on Market: 177 days
http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1053320384
In realtor-speak, a $200K price drop is an “adjusted price.”
Yeah and its probably some 50 yr old crap box 2-3 bedroom on 1/8 an acre.
boycott houses.
Do not waste your time now.
50 years old Bob? No way, it’s 206 years old!
Built in 1800 according to the listing.
Can you say “money pit”?
Where is the spin?
NAR Rulebook:
First Choice – Make it look positive if at all possible. “Prices up 10% YOY!” (small print: prices slip for 5th straight month)
Second Choice – Where you can’t spin positivly, use it as evidence of a “soft landing”.
“Inventory up 400%, buyers have more choices as the market takes a little rest”
rigggghhhhttt… adjusted price… just a little tweak… of 200k… hahahaha! also… remember everyone, this is suppose to be the time of year when the seller holds all of the cards… and has pricing power… well, i guess not!
People are still asking for anything, and I dont understand the logic.
I am reposting what I posted in another thread. Almost identical houses – in size and shape – except that one is younger by 10 years – asking for 299, 339 and 379.
———————————
Look at the following nearly identitical homes from Realtor.com.
All of them are on Tyler Avenue, Iselin, from the maps it looks like they are all maybe one or two houses apart from each other.
The second and third ads appeared AFTER the first one had reduced to 299K !!
MLS ID#: 612243 – $299,900 (reduced from $329,000) – 3 Bed, 1.5 Bath – Type: Split level – 1 car garage, Year Built: 1956 – 6 total rooms – Central air conditioning
MLS ID#: 614697 – $339,900 (reduced from 359,000 I think) – 3 Bed, 1.5 Bath – Year Built: 1955 – Type: Cape cod – 6 total rooms – 1 car garage – Central air conditioning – 6 total rooms
MLS ID#: 617562 – $379,900 – 4 Bed, 2 Bath – Year Built: 1965 – Type: Detached, Split level – Central air conditioning – No Garage – Spa/hot tub (perhaps garage converted into 4th bedroom, and half bath converted to full bath.)
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba BOYCOTT HOUSES!
Ripoff Prices!!!!
Find another serf to buy your overpriced crackerbox junk.
BOOOOOYAAAAAAAAA!
Bob
Not sure if someone posted this but OMG…. 50 year mtg. I cant believe this crap…
Bankrate.com
50-year mortgage debuts in California
by Holden Lewis
The Methuselah of mortgages has arrived: the 50-year home loan.
Think of it as a mortgage that has been supersized. Like that other supersizer, McDonald’s, the massive mortgage was born in Southern California’s San Bernardino County. Statewide Bancorp of Rancho Cucamonga began offering the loan in late March, to California residents. Advertisements have yielded a lot of phone calls and “quite a few applications,” says Alex Diaz Jr., vice president of Statewide.
rest of story:
http://biz.yahoo.com/brn/
060427/18804.html?.v=1
bobby
Actually, pending home sales rose a bit in the Northeast. It doesn’t matter, though, becouse inventory was up so much. Check it out on:
BubbleTrack.blogspot.com
I looked at the Mendham property that was mentioned and it is nicer than anything available in Cedar Grove (Essex county)at that price and at least up to $650,000. If you want to laugh, look at the shacks (and they all look much better on realtor.com than in real life)listed for Cedar Grove and for BIG bucks. Note that most of the properties are TINY, with many about 50 x 130′ in size. Cedar Grove lacks “move up houses” (it mainly has tiny starter houses or million $ plus houses. Very depressing for us who want to stay (kids in the schools).
Not sure if someone posted this but OMG…. 50 year mtg. I cant believe this crap…
This probably really isn’t a big deal. This is essentially a “compromise” mortgage meant to satisfy the regulators and investors, who are becoming increasingly concerned with risky lending, while at the same time trying to keep the party going. This is actually more conservative that an option-ARM or an I/O loan.
For $500,000 @ 6.5%, the initial monthly payment would be:
Option ARM – $1,121 (@ 1.25% teaser)
I/O – $2,708
50 yr fixed – $2,819
30 yr fixed – $3,160
In reality, the difference between the 30 and 50 would be closer because the interest rate would need to be higher on the 50.
This mortgage won’t make much of a difference.
RE: 50-year mortgages
Another F’d Borrower ran the numbers on those, and up to a 100-year mortgage, and it didn’t really lower the monthly payment.
Here’s his post:
http://anotherfuckedborrower.blogspot.com/2005/12/40yr-mortgageis-it-for-you.html
(triple-click to select long links)
“I looked at the Mendham property that was mentioned and it is nicer than anything available in Cedar Grove (Essex county)at that price and at least up to $650,000.”
FYI, they paid $300K for it in 1999.
The Mendham house is a poor specimen. Anything with 3 or four bedrooms in Mendham will continue to move at whatever people ask so long as it isn’t ancient, on a busy street, or next to the firehouse. The amount of space you can get in Mendham separates it from the towns closer on the line. Mendham will weather the bubble burst better than most areas
Yes…every CEO wants to live in Mendham
Personally, I believe Newark will also weather the bubble
The proximity to NYC is a major selling point. Plus, very close to Rutgers which separates it from the “other” towns.