Existing Home Sales July

Summary: Headline reads existing home sales increase, under the sheets,

the increase can't keep up as prices continue to plunge, with foreclosures bloating inventory to an all time record.

Existing Home Sales Jul +3.1% at 5M vs 4.86M Full Report

Inside the number: Yoy -13%; Median sales price falling -1.3%; Yoy -7%, West -22%.

Condo sales Yoy -16%; Inventory +29%. Total Inventory rising to an all time record 4.6M or 11.2 months; Yoy +18%.

Something truthful from NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, : "We are in a very tight credit-availability condition. Inventories continue to remain very high."

Martin Feldstein: "The number of negative-equity homes is exploding.

Housing prices will continue to go down, driven by the large oversupply of houses and the increasing number of foreclosures
."

The Nattering One muses... its a self feeding vortex. Housing price declines reduce household wealth, just as job losses and borrowing costs are rising.

This contributes to a slowdown in consumer spending, 70% of the economy, leading to further job losses, foreclosures, price declines, and reduced spending.

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