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A home for sale in San Rafael, Calif.
By msnbc.com news services
Sales of previously owned homes rose to an 11-month high in December and the supply of properties on the market dropped to a near 7-year low, an industry group said on Friday, pointing to a nascent recovery in the housing market.
The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales increased 5 percent month over month to an annual rate of 4.61 million units. November's sales pace was revised down to a 4.39 million-unit pace, previously reported as a 4.42 million-unit rate.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise to a 4.65 million-unit sales pace in December. Sales last month were up 3.6 percent from a year ago.
For the whole of 2011 sales showed a gain over 2010 totals. A total of 4.26 million homes were sold last year, up 1.7 percent from the prior year.
A third straight month of gains in sales added to hopes that a tentative recovery in the housing market is starting take shape, but progress will be painfully slow given a glut of unsold properties that is weighing down on prices.
Ivy Zelman, CEO of Zelman & Associates, a housing-research firm, appeared on CNBC earlier to explain why she believes the housing market has bottomed and is the very early stages of recovery:
However, Jacob Oubina, senior U.S. economist for RBC Capital Markets in New York, reckons the “foreclosure overhang” will continue to weigh on housing for some time.
“If you look at the report the supply fell, but what that doesn't take into account is the shadow overhang, the distressed side of the market, people that are basically delinquent on their mortgages and haven't gone through foreclosure yet,” he said.
“That pipeline is worth seven million units, and represents about 20 months of supply. The distressed is still a huge problem. When you look at home prices overall in the U.S. I think they're still going to decline modestly in 2012,” he added.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Too bad they did not explain how supply on the market can be at a 7 year low, while there is a glut of unsold houses on the market. I assume they mean there are a lot of unoccupied houses that are not on the market.
Assume nothing, LawSci, except that this is bsnbc's daily propoganda designed to convince us that Obama is making everything ok, and therefore we should vote for his reelection.
The company I work for, works with companies that make materials for the building industry. Several of our customers have had plants mothballed for the past two years. Now they are starting them up again and looking to buy new capital equipment.
From what we are seeing right now, the building industry is picking up, and I for one am very happy about it.
Home prices are still a bubble compared to historic norm. According to case shiller index, we are still 20% above long term averages. Typical bottom comes at 20% below average. When the money supply deflates, existing prices and salaries cannot be sustained. Google for "housing bubble kondratieff wave" to understand why prices are going to fall...
Third day in a row with a report opposite from the day before. I guess they figure we don't remember what was written yesterday.
Not over, not even close.
They did explain it. There are a large number of homes that have not yet been foreclosed on and so are not currently on the market.
More like NARA's propaganda. Their numbers have been repeatedly discredited as overinflated for the last couple of years. And as long as your being a partisan hack, NARA are a bunch of republicans.
Must be a big conspiracy! Quick, put on your tinfoil hats, nutjobs!
Seeing how Fannie Mae plans on bundling up properties to sell to individual investors as well as opening up the markets to foreigners to purchase real estate this could put a hugh dent in the supply over time.
The NAR reports? Hah. Aren't they the ones that fed us false data for several years at the height of the recession? I always have problems with an organization reporting on it's own business.
spider-737231
From the actual article:
Yeah, everyone knows the National Association of Realtors is part of Obama's vast liberal conspiracy. One symptom of Obama Derangement Syndrome is going ballistic over any good news about the economy. You guys are showing that ODS symptom.
For crying out loud, NBC should start a news service and mothball the Obama cheering section
we understand your frustration. good news is bad news for right wing crazies. go to faux news/ republican radio for some bad news to cheer you up.
+Down is up.
+Black is white
These regpugnobot sheeple trolls would believe the sun was coming up in the west tomorrow if The President affirmed that is rises daily in the east.
These are NARA numbers. NARA are a bunch of republicans.
So, home sales go up and it would be better if msnbc didn't report in it? Because of the perception that any positive news is shilling for Obama? Give me a break. The news is what it is, and the story points out other aspects like the fact that there are a large number of homes in preforeclosure that will tend to dampen gains in home sales. So it looks pretty objective to me.
Poor Bennie: Annoy a Republican: report positive news.
Florida Dem.
MSNBC has reported PLENTY of bad news for Obama. And the right wingers have always gleefully trumpeted it as the gospel truth. But when some occasional good news for Obama happens, then they claim that it must be liberal bias and can't possibly be true. Maybe they should worry about their own biases, that filters out all aspects of the real world that don't fit what they want to believe.
Won't matter much in the long run since the coming Europe Depression will bring down the whole world's economic system.
You can't believe ONE word that comes out of the NAR!!! What about the report last month that showed the NAR had been lying about sale numbers for the last 3 years. They're Real Estate Agents, lying is what they do!
The NAR is somewhat lacking in credibility. I believe it was only a month or so ago that they announced they had been double-counting a significant number of home sales for years and were forced to revise their figures downward - by something between 10 and 20%. Naturally they have a bias since their business is selling homes but just from a statistical perspective they are a challenge as to credibility.
Rick: Nice post! I definitely agree with your comments. Oh, your diplomatic use of the word "somewhat" is nice too :-)
The NAR constantly seem to be "grabbing at straws" to pump up, inflate and hype any tidbit of info they can.
Why? America's economy is still going through an economic storm of biblical proportions. I believe we remain in the midst of a true "paradigm shift" in many areas, especially Real Estate, where millions of Americans are re-evaluating what were once commonly accepted "perceived benefits" of home ownership. This "shift" in thinking remains strong today and honestly, it has become increasingly difficult to rationally justify that "desire to OWN" on a par with what it once was years ago.
The staggering glut of over 10 Million unsold homes, staggering foreclosures and declining values has caused tens of thousands to "walk away from existing mortgages" knowing their Credit gets hammered, and has caused millions of other "potential buyers to take serious PAUSE" and really hesitate before "jumping" to BUY any home at all.
Those "morons in Washington" have actually been seriously considering removing "classic benefits" like "interest deductions" from Home mortgages, which does nothing to inspire potential owners either?
Regardless of what the NAR pinheads "wish to hype" the fact remains that America's Real Estate world has been turned "upside down" and there is truly nothing on the horizon for the foreseeable future that can make much of a difference.
More and more Americans continue to become more and more "frugal and cautious" when it comes to buying most anything, from household furnishings and appliances to cars and homes... and we even are more careful "how we drive" to conserve more than ever before.
This "paradigm shift" in the mindset of the American consumer will likely remain for years to come, very similar to the mindset of our parents and grandparents who grew up and lived through the Great Depression.
The NAR will continue to entertain us with their little fantasy cartoon stories.
peace :-)
I don't know for sure but it seems to me the economy is picking up slowly but surely in several areas. I would imagine this would irritate conservative voters and politicians. Funny how that works. (I hate that word sheeple that people use on newsvine posts, it usually comes from the ones on the left or right that have stubborn pig-headed beliefs I notice.) Why is good news and or optimism so repulsive to some?
gary> In this case it is the source. The NAR has recently admitted to major errors in the numbers they have published. The economy may well be improving in "several areas" - either geographic areas or economic sectors/areas. The point most are making is the NAR is a difficult organization to put one's faith in of late.
Please, why do we even listen to the National Association of Realtors? When the market was tanking, they were the last ones to admit it. In ANY news service over the beginning years of this mess, we heard their optimism(propaganda?) which always seemed to be followed later in the program by a report from the financial sector or government agency which directly contradicted the NAR.
Didn't they just have to adjust theit reported sales numbers for the past 4 - 5 years because they were over estimated. What a surprise.
I think they are as big a part of the problem of the housing crisis as any financial or government agancy, if not more. Think about it, they are cheerleaders to the sellers, "You can get more, don't take a lower offer, there is such a demand and many buyers out there" AND THEN to the buyers, "Make a strong offer, there are many others interested in this property - houses like this are going fast - you probably should come in with an offer at or above the selling price if you want this - it's not gonna last long"
That's exactly how it worked. We looked for 3 years, but the prices kept going up AND the conditions of the houses got worse - dirty rooms, clothe around, broken door jambs, unkept yards. I guess the market was too hot to have to properly prepare houses for showing. We looked at our finances and stayed on the sideline rather than taking a ARM or no initerest mortgage.
Now those buyers are underwater, even if they are making their payments. Houses that went for 375K are now going for 285K. I feel sorry for them since many were Su cked into buying their once in a lifetime dream home at such astronomical prices and crap mortgages, many times from institutions referred to by the realtor.
And now we see they are saying sales are really increasing. Is that "reality" or "realty" numbers? I guess there's gonna be a run-up, so we better buy fast because these properties won't last for long. Now those buyers who were duped into buying high are going too be duped into selling high because of the "demand". Be prepared to get stuck with your property listing for many many months if you listen to your realtor.
Don't be ticked-off at today's buyers. We knew what our limits were, did not listen to the used-house dealers, and did not over extend on a magical mortgage. Sellers had the upperhand. Now the pendulem has swung to the buyer. Sellers, don't think it will swing in your favor anytime soon. Ask a fair price and take it, don't try to get what you paid, unless you will stay there for another 10 years or so.
But anyway, let the NAR report 5 months of significant increase of home sales and also follow what the government, financials, and economists are saying and use your better judgement. We have waited all these years to buy a house we can afford - don't blow it now by renewed optimism(propaganda) by the National Association of Realtors. NAR - "Never Accept Realilty"
Never accept reality?? I hate to tell ya Bill, but if you still can't find a house to afford in this market...you ought to consider being a permanent renter.
From the MSNBC article, which rightwingers seem to be reading very selectively:
So, are these economists and the Reuters agency that polled them all part of the vast liberal conspiracy, too? It seems that when more evidence suggesting a pick-up in the economy is reported, right wingers immediately interpret it as yet more evidence of how enormous the liberal conspiracy is.
2012: Realtor= used car salesperson= B.S. Artist!
I really like the choice of words. Nascent=not yet fully developed. Of course the real estate industry is not fully developed on how to deal with this problem. REMEMBER THIS IS THE ORGANIZATION THAT RETRACTED THEIR FIGURES AND BASICALLY APOLOGIZED WITH A OPPPS!!! ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO. "WE MADE A MISTAKE" WE WERE JUST HOPING TO STIMULATE THE INDUSTRY.
Is this another lie or false reporting from the Realtors?
Many people have taken their homes off the market because of the devaluation of residential property. Others have chosen to walk away and others are riding out the foreclosure process. This is one of the reasons the figures are looking positive.
When people have real jobs again in the construction industry (residential development and construction) the home values will begin to increase again.
Buying houses that have been on the market for 6-12 months with prices reduced by 20-30% off the initial asking prices while mortgage rates are at historic lows does not a recovery make.
Would not buying make a recovery?
Nope. What I'm saying is this is not a recovery at all. It's a single data point being interpreted as a change in the trend. If it continues for several months, then it's a trend. Right now, it seems to me to just be noise caused by a mild December weather pattern.
Was this a "Realty" report or a " Reality" report?
I can only speak for myself, but our house was on the market for two years with the original listing price just what we had put into the house. The house is now in escrow with the price being considerably less than what we paid for it originally (2004) and minus the $250K that we made in improvements to the house. This might be considered an improvement to some, but not to me! We will just be happy to be free of Bank of America. We will never own another home again!
The housing market is going to take as long to recover as it took to get into the bubble it caused. I rather people buy up all the old properties, rebuild them and then just like the job market have a slow steady recovery. Once people start letting greed take control of there lives bad things end up happening. So if the news keeps going on this slow but steady pace this is better for America then if we have bubble economy like we had over the past 20 years ladies and gentlemen.
Builders will simply build smaller housing units to be sold at much lower prices. The NAR will then crow about increases in house sales as prices of larger, existing houses continue to fall.
I like the line about upcoming forclosures being a 'problem'. Doesnt this depend on your point of view. personally as someone who doesn't own yet the more forclosures the better the price. Not a problem but a blessing!
A headline writer is only a step above a towel boy in a vomitorium. And, nascent. What in hell were you thinking? Were you smashed on Brandy Alexanders?
Agree! and the new word today children is nascent witch in fact means resent but i needed to through a little mind bender at yall readers lol
vette...that was good.