Category: housing market

By Lynn Adler

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sellers cut prices on nearly one quarter of U.S. homes listed in June, an increase from May, showing buyers still call the shots in the U.S. housing market, real estate website Trulia.com said on Wednesday.

Sellers lowered asking prices at least once on 24 percent of homes listed as of July 1 compared with 22 percent the prior month, Trulia said in a report provided to Reuters before official release.

More job creation and employment security are needed for a sustained rebound, San Francisco-based Trulia said. Swelling inventory, under the weight of record foreclosures and typical summer selling, remains a formidable obstacle.

“We’re seeing more and more sellers reduce their home listing prices to attract potential buyers, who definitely have the upper hand in negotiations this season,” said Trulia Chief Executive Pete Flint.

Home buying demand came to a screeching halt after the April 30 deadline to sign contracts for up to $8,000 in tax credits.

Applications to purchase houses sank to 13-year lows, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as the spring race for tax credits stole from summer sales.

“The slow start to the summer season is creating major concern that we are heading toward a double-dip in the second half of this year” in the housing market, Flint said in a statement.

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It’s not just Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County – it’s EVERYWHERE.

By Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 2, 2010

After showing signs of a fledgling recovery from the worst downturn in decades, the U.S. housing market appears to be heading back toward the doldrums, as the expiration of a lucrative tax credit for buyers and increased uncertainty about the economy cause home sales to plummet.

The sudden weakness in residential real estate has struck nearly every region of the country, according to recent government and industry data, driving down sales of new and previously owned homes alike in May. On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said an index that measures sales contracts signed on existing homes plunged 30 percent in May, more than twice what analysts had forecast, to the lowest level since the group started tracking the numbers in 2001.

Those sharp declines come despite record-low mortgage rates and historically cheap home prices. The market’s renewed fragility highlights concerns about whether the U.S. economy will hurtle back into recession and illustrates the impact of the nation’s high unemployment rate, now at 9.7 percent. On Friday, the government will issue jobless figures for June that could signal what is in store for housing and economic growth.

As long as people are without jobs or fear losing their livelihoods, they are unlikely to commit to buying a home and saddling themselves with 30 years of mortgage payments.

“It sounds simplistic but it bears repeating: ‘No job = No house,’ ” Mike Larson, an analyst with Weiss Research, wrote in a note to clients Thursday. “With so many Americans unemployed or underemployed, the housing market is going to keep hurting.”

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If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350 Deep Creek Lake Info, Business Directories, Classified Ads, Events & more! Advertise on http://www.deepcreekalive.com/!