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...National Association of Realtors (NAR) is lobbying for the U.S. government to artificially lower mortgage rates by purchasing loan points for home buyers. They say the program would cost $100 billion, and could raise home prices as much as 4% nationwide. Anyone buying a house for primary residence would be eligible for the mortgage-rate buydown, which would lower a purchaser's loan rate 1% for the life of the loan. They say the incentive should be made available for the next 12 months. "The sentiment in Washington is that we need to get the housing market moving...
...buyers and sellers: property owners are reluctant to cut prices, and buyers are patrolling from the sidelines, hoping for fire sales. "We've had sellers' markets for the last five years, and they're transitioning to buyers' markets," says David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). "Sales go down and prices follow. Sellers are stubborn, so there's a standoff." Lereah says he'll probably cut his forecast for price growth from 5% to 4% this year. It could be worse, but in certain mid-tier markets--like Cincinnati, Ohio; Dallas; Milwaukee, Wis.; Salt Lake City...
Sales of existing homes nationwide are down 8.9% this year, including a 17% free fall in the West, according to the NAR. A year ago, 2.6 million units were on the market. Now there are 3.7 million, a 39% spike. Home builders, whose stock prices have tumbled, were late to cut production, a bad sign for new-home inventories, especially with mortgage rates higher than last year's levels. KB Home, a national builder, says its cancellation rate shot up to 37% in the second quarter, from 25% a year earlier. "People are making arguably the most significant economic decision...
...live in Bubbleopolis, things certainly look scary. In Miami there's a 17-month supply of single-family homes for sale, according to the NAR. Some 75,000 condos are coming on the market in Miami--Dade County, many purchased by speculators with no plans to live in them. "There will be lots of foreclosures, lots of auctions," predicts real estate agent Rose...
...group also estimates that more than a half-million new homes are sitting unsold, staying on the market about five months, the longest time in a decade. While that may sound like bad news for sellers, buyers are happily finding more time to pick and choose property. According to NAR's chief economist, David Lereah, "This looks like we're touching down for the soft landing we've been expecting...