US Pending Home Sales Index Drops To Lowest Ever In Aug

[Purveyor]

Source: Dow Jones

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The battered housing sector took another blow Tuesday, with an industry group reporting a gauge of pending home sales tumbled to its lowest level ever as the credit crunch restrains purchases.

The National Association of Realtors' index for pending sales of previously owned homes decreased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.5% to 85.5 in August from July's 91.4, the industry group said.

The August index was at its lowest point since tracking began in January 2001. The previous low was 89.8 in September 2001.

NAR senior economist Lawrence Yun said the troubled mortgage market hurt sales.

"Fewer contracts were being written because of mortgage availability issues, and a separate internal survey of our members shows more than 10% of sales contracts fell through at the last moment in August, primarily the result of canceled loan commitments," he said.


Read more: http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=1fd8da51-51da-4f89-a439-418ee97026d8

[still_one]

1. The spinners love it. They say that bernake will continue to lower interest rates

and the economy will avoid recession

Frankly, the whole thing is manipulated. Funny how they don't include food and energy when they calculate inflation.

Funny how they don't talk about those who fall off the unemployment rolls, after their unemployment runs out when they report unemployment figures

Reality does not exist as far as the media is concerned

[Tempest]

2. Low interest rates won't work this time

The rates were kept so low for so long, most Americans got themselves into trouble by piling on the debt.

There's no one left to make loans to at any interest rate.

[still_one]

4. The problem is that the low interest rates is causing the dollar to fall even lower

As far as the low interest rates not helping many, I agree, but for an additional reason also. Unless the price of the house they refinance is worth more than the original loan, they will not get additional financing, and will lose the house

It will help the financial institutions who helped contribute to this mess though.

Funny but the republicans like to say how capitalistic they are, yet when things like this occur, instead of making those pay for it, they bail them out. That is not capitalism

[cascadiance]

5. We've reached the tipping point. The only way out is to RAISE OUR F'IN SALARIES!

and STOP outsourcing jobs!

Having people living off their home equity isn't going to cut it any more! That equity is going, going, gone!

And with all of the middle class joining the underclass, so goes the nation as well!

[TexasLawyer]

6. Actually, lowering the fed funds rate has raised long-term mortgage rates

Lowering the fed funds rate has driven up market expectations that the US will experience sustained inflation, which tends to drive up long-term bond yields. 30-year mortgage rates are tied closely to 10 year Treasury bond rates.

30-year mortgage rates have actually been rising since Bernanke's interest rate cut.

[Roland99]

3. Bad housing news is old news

Bad housing news is old news
Al Kugel, chief investment strategist with Atlantic Trust, tells MarketWatch's Andrew O'Day the lack of steep selling on Wall Street today suggests investors are increasingly hopeful the credit crunch is all but over.
http://www.marketwatch.com/tvradio/player.asp?guid={CE3D0D52-D963-42C6-AF9F-DC61D63D80D6}

Up is down.

Black is white.