Home Sales Up... No Down

Another government pull-ahead program ala "Cash For Clunkers" that is "full of sound and fury; signifying nothing."

From The Detroit News:

Last Updated: December 23. 2009 1:00AM

Midwest home sales up 58%

Rush to claim tax credit fuels surge from a year ago

Josh Funk / Associated Press

Omaha, Neb. -- Home sales in the Midwest jumped 58 percent last month over year-ago levels, the strongest showing of any region, as first-time buyers rushed to claim a temporary federal tax credit.

There were 1.2 million total sales in the 11-state region, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. The median home price was flat at $140,800.

For Michigan, total sales in the third quarter amounted to 169,000 units, a 7 percent increase from the previous quarter and an 11 percent increase from the same period a year ago.

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Nationally, existing home sales jumped almost 47 percent from November of last year, without adjusting for seasonal factors. The median sales price fell 4 percent to $172,600.

About half of all buyers in November were first-time home buyers, NAR said. Many hurried to get under a deadline to qualify for an $8,000 tax credit that was set to expire at the end of the month, though Congress then extended and expanded the program through April.

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From The Wall Street Journal:

DECEMBER 23, 2009, 10:15 A.M. ET

New-Home Sales Slide 11.3%

BY JEFF BATER

WASHINGTON -- New-home sales plunged to their lowest in seven months during November, a bigger-than-expected drop and a sign the housing-market recovery will be rocky.

Separately, the income of Americans made the largest gain in six months during November and their spending rose strongly, according to data hinting the economy might have picked up speed near the end of the year.

Sales of single-family homes decreased 11.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 355,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.