Bad News for the Housing Market Continues

There is not much new concerning declining home sales. It is more like checking in once every 30 minutes to find out your team is still losing. Text in bold is my emphasis. From Market Watch:

Sales of existing homes fell further in October even as more homes came on the market, driving the supply of homes to the highest level in 22 years, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

Sales dropped 1.2% to a 4.97 million seasonally adjusted annualized pace in October, the real estate advocacy group said. The sales pace is the lowest since 1999, when the group began tracking combined sales of single-family homes and condos.

Sales are down 20.7% in the past year and are down 31% from the peak of 7.21 million two years ago.

The inventory of unsold homes rose by 1.9% to 4.45 million, representing a 10.8 month supply, the highest since 1999.

For single-family homes alone, the inventory of 10.5 months is the highest since July 1985.

The median sales price fell 5.1% in the past year to $207,800. That's the largest year-over-year price decline ever recorded.

Sales fell 4.4% in the West, where sales have plunged 33% in the past year and down 48% from the peak. The seizure of the jumbo mortgage market was a major factor in the sales slump in the West, Yun said.

Sales dropped 1.7% in the Midwest and were unchanged in the South and Northeast.

Sales of single-family homes were flat in October at a 4.37 million pace, matching September for the lowest level since January 1998. The median sales price for single-family homes is down a record 6.3% in the past year to $205,700.

Sales of condos fell 9.1% to a 600,000 annual pace. The median sales price rose 4.9% year-on-year to $223,500.