Buying And Selling: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Someday, if I'm still one of the mighty bubble blogerati, I'll be writing a post that starts with "Today's NAR report showed steady, stable appreciation in home prices in a solid market..."

Today, unfortunately, is not that day:

The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of existing homes and condominiums dropped by 4.1 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million. That was the lowest level since January 2004.

The latest snapshot of housing activity was weaker than analysts anticipated. Economists were forecasting the pace of sales to fall to 6.55 million.

The only thing more fragile than market data right now is David Lereah's reputation. How does this guy continue to get quoted without any sort of challenge or authentication of his opinions as fact? I do credit Jeannine Aversa with a little more snark in the article, at least.

The Mortgage Bankers' Association reported another slight easing in mortgage rates, though as Calculated Risk noted, the stats look anemic in light of last year's performance. Still, rates are still tremendously low, and this might encourage shaky buyers to give it a whirl.

Then again, if yesterday's portents of doom and gloom from the Fed are any indication, things may be getting much worse before they get much better:

A Federal Reserve official's warning about a possible resumption of interest rate hikes rattled Wall Street on Tuesday, wiping out most of an early advance.

The comments by Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow unnerved investors looking to revive last week's rally after having collected some profits Monday. Retailers and other sectors dependent on consumer spending were weak after Moskow said, "Some additional firming of policy may yet be necessary to bring inflation back into the comfort zone within a reasonable period of time."

.....Do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

Posted at August 23, 2006 02:44 PM

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Someday, if I'm still one of the mighty bubble blogerati, I'll be writing a post that starts with "Today's NAR report showed steady, stable appreciation in home prices in a solid market..." Today, unfortunately, is not that day: The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of existing homes and condominiums dropped by 4.1 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million. That was the lowest level since January 2004. The latest snapshot of housing activity was weaker than analysts anticipated. Economists were forecasting the pace of sales to fall to 6.55 million. The only thing more fragile than market data right now is David Lereah's reputation. How does this guy continue to get quoted without any sort of challenge or authentication of his opinions as fact? I do credit Jeannine Aversa with a little more snark in the article, at least. The Mortgage Bankers' Association reported another slight easing in mortgage rates, though as Calculated Risk noted, the stats look anemic in light of last year's performance. Still, rates are still tremendously low, and this might encourage shaky buyers to give it a whirl. Then again, if yesterday's portents of doom and gloom from the Fed are any indication, things may be getting much worse before they get much better: A Federal Reserve official's warning about a possible resumption of interest rate hikes rattled Wall Street on Tuesday, wiping out most of an early advance. The comments by Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow unnerved investors looking to revive last week's rally after having collected some profits Monday. Retailers and other sectors dependent on consumer spending were weak after Moskow said, "Some additional firming of policy may yet be necessary to bring inflation back into the comfort zone within a reasonable period of time." .....Do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?