U.S. September Home Sales Unexpectedly Rise; Previous Months Revised Down

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg News

Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in September after figures for previous months were revised down, maintaining concern the housing slump will restrain economic growth.

Purchases increased 4.8 percent to an annual rate of 770,000 that matched the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. August purchases were revised down to an 11-year low of 735,000, the Commerce Department said today in Washington.

Residential sales will remain weak as credit restrictions and higher mortgage rates limit the number of eligible buyers. Reduced demand is hurting purchases of housing-related products, such as furniture and appliances, and threatens to affect other areas of spending.

``The profile of sales over the past few months looks a good deal weaker than originally thought,'' said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics LLC in Valhalla, New York. ``Sales have further to fall.''



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aIc4pd0FllsM&refer=us

[ixion]

1. which appears to directly contradict this story:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x29643

:wtf:

[Roland99]

14. One is new homes...one is existing homes. Different animals.

[rayofreason]

2. A Florida..

..realtor friend told me that closing are way up in his office this month.

A single data point, but consistent with this story.

[Donnachaidh]

3. and basing reports on *1* state's figures is mendacious as hell

But that doesn't stop this government from doing it.

I wouldn't belive the report.

[spotbird]

5. As you read down

there isn't much good news in the article:

Sales of previously-owned homes dropped 8 percent in September to 5.04 million, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1999, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday. The inventory of homes for sale rose to a 10.5 months supply, also the highest on record.

Existing homes account for about 85 percent of the market and new homes make up the rest. New homes are considered to be a more current measure though because they are calculated based on contract signings rather than closings.

[redqueen]

8. Jeez... more current... but seemingly much more unreliable.

:wtf:

[fasttense]

4. And AOL, with the help of AP, is telling the masses that New Home Sales are UP.

"Stocks Up After New Home Sales Rise
By MADLEN READ,AP
Posted: 2007-10-25 10:34:12
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks turned higher Thursday after a surprise gain in new home sales eased some of Wall Street's concerns about the housing sector.

The Commerce Department said sales of new homes rose 4.8 percent in September from August's levels, a pleasant surprise for a market that had a decline. The data was particularly reassuring after a drop in existing home sales sent stocks tumbling early in the previous session."

No where in the article does it mentioned the lowered August sales. You got to love how the gubermint manipulates the smoke and mirrors.

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/stocks-up-after-new-home-sales-rise/n20071025103409990008

[AnneD]

6. About the only thing these reports are usefull for these days .....

is as toilet paper-and the dollars isn't too far behind ;)

[redqueen]

7. How confusing!

So... the number changed because they revised previous months (back to June?!) further downward? Is that what's happened? There was no mention of these being the revised September numbers, correct? So we won't really know for another month or two, no?

And also about price...

The median price rose 5 percent from September 2006 to $238,000.

(snip)

Other reports have shown steep declines in prices. The S&P/Case-Shiller price index for 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell 3.9 percent in July from a year earlier. The Commerce Department's measure for new home sales prices can be influenced by changes in the types of homes sold.

:crazy:

[scipan]

9. but sales of existing homes down 8%

Talk about misleading headlines. From the same article, buried near the end:

Sales of previously-owned homes dropped 8 percent in September to 5.04 million, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1999, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday. The inventory of homes for sale rose to a 10.5 months supply, also the highest on record.

Existing homes account for about 85 percent of the market and new homes make up the rest. New homes are considered to be a more current measure though because they are calculated based on contract signings rather than closings.

[CountAllVotes]

10. has anyone noticed ...

that zillow.com has not been updated since 9/11/2007? They used to update this site at least once a month if not more often than that. :wtf:

:kick:

[goforit]

11. pumping numbers? Cheerio!!!

[jaksavage]

12. A pile of bullshit

shrouded in smoke.

[w8liftinglady]

13. my thoughts exactly-next month,they'll adjust them down.

[tom_paine]

16. Oh yes, Bushies lie like Soviets. A tissue of lies and half-truths, at best.

A wholesale fabrication at worst.

Welcome to living outside the protection of the Free World. Welcome to Bush-Occupied Amerika.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

15. Foreclosure sales at clearance prices along with machinations of the system.

A property in my neighborhood sold for 200000 April 2006 was foreclosed after owners walked away. It was sold twice on the same day:

Seller: HSBC MORTGAGE SERVICES INC Date: 10/03/2007 Price: $159,900
Type: NOT ARMS-LENGTH Deed1: / 3381/ 442 Deed2:

Seller: RAY WAYNE EDWARD Date: 10/03/2007 Price: $229,007
Type: NOT ARMS-LENGTH Deed1: / 3381/ 435 Deed2:

Seller: KESSELRING LOWELL JACK Date: 04/25/2006 Price: $200,000

I saw another instance of this happening recently too in my neighborhood with a foreclosed property being sold twice in same month. I don't know anything about real estate but it appears to be some type of tax dodge. The only reason I noticed is I am going to list my house in the spring and I am monitoring the totally dismal local market. This is the other transaction with an out of state mortage company being the buyer:

MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC

Seller: ROHRER JASON R & Date: 06/22/2007 Price: $148,300
Type: NOT ARMS-LENGTH Deed1: / 3319/ 545 Deed2:

Seller: BAKER DURELL W III & Date: 06/07/2005 Price: $174,900
Type: IMPROVED ARMS-LENGTH Deed1: / 2677/ 711 Deed2:

Seller: FORREST MARK J & BETH A Date: 01/24/2003 Price: $92,000
Type: IMPROVED ARMS-LENGTH Deed1: / 1915/ 129

The hustle is on with the working class being the loser as usual.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

17. 60% of builders are offering discounts...

and many are throwing in 'perks' to get sales.