Agree or Disagree

[James H. Bushart]

July home sales surge more than 7 percent

By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, Ap Real Estate Writer 1 hr 13 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The U.S. housing market is rebounding faster than expected. The question is, can it last? Home resales in July posted the largest monthly increase in at least 10 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires Nov. 30. Sales jumped 7.2 percent and beat expectations, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.
"We've got tens of thousands of homes perfect for the first-time homebuyer and we've taken advantage of that," said George Hackett, president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Pittsburgh.
Sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July, from a pace of 4.89 million in June. It was the fourth-straight monthly increase and the strongest month since August 2007. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
The risks to that healthy pace, however, are job cuts, mortgage rates and the looming end to the homebuyer tax credit. And the last one could be a doozy because first-time buyers are snapping up one out of every three homes.
First-time buyers get a credit of 10 percent of the purchase price of a home, up to $8,000. The credit phases out for singles earning more than $75,000 and couples earning more than $150,000. The real estate industry is lobbying to have the credit extended but its unclear if Congress will be swayed.
"I would not be at all surprised to see a dip at the end of the year once the tax credit expires," said Robert Dye, senior economist with PNC Financial Services Group.
The home sales report was another sign that the U.S. economy is on the verge of a long-awaited recovery after enduring a brutal recession and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Economic activity in both the U.S. and around the world appears to be leveling out and "the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday.
But fallout from the recession will linger for some time. Unemployment rose in July in 26 states and fell in 17, the Labor Department said Friday. That is driving up foreclosures, which are not expected to level off until sometime next year.
Sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up about a third of all transactions last month, down from nearly half earlier this year. In places like San Diego and Orlando, buyers are snapping up foreclosed properties at deep discounts, and inventories are low.
Those sales helped drag down the national median sales price by 15 percent to $178,400.
Stephen Stoyko hunted off-and-on for two years before he bought a four-bedroom, two-story foreclosure this week for $320,000. The home in Roswell, Ga., north of Atlanta, was initially priced at $335,000.
Stoyko expects to spend about $7,000 to replace missing kitchen appliances and light fixtures — a cost will be at least partially offset by the first-time homebuyer tax credit. "It's bigger than I needed, but the price was right," he said.
The inventory of unsold homes on the market rose to 4.1 million, from 3.8 million a month earlier as buyers who had held their homes off the market in the past decided to list them for sale. That's a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from June.
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AP Real Estate Writers Adrian Sainz in Miami and J.W. Elphinstone in New York contributed to this report. AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa contributed reporting from Jackson Hole, Wyo.

[Michael Larson]

Of the current housing market - Yes

Of a recovering economy - No

[Joseph A. Ferry]

I think that the "first time buyer" credit and the "cash for clunkers" program violate the Equal Protection provisions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the US Constitution.

[Kevin M. Leonard]

Got this today.

http://www2.cabr.org/files/JulyHomeSales.pdf

[Nick Gromicko]

Much of this is simply people trying to hedge against inflation. Spending is the smart thing to do (although I disagree with buying a home). Interest rates have to go up and the value of the dollar has to go down... so borrow and buy now. If you have cash or the ability to borrow, invest in raw land, gold bullion, and your business... today.

The advantage of investing in your inspection business now (and for most inspectors, "investing" means "marketing") is that your bed-wetting competitors are all curled up in the fetal position. Take their markets away from them!

Most of my business interests are related directly or indirectly to the housing market, and when it went to hell, I punched the gas pedal down and haven't let up yet. Same with InterNACHI: www.nachi.org/whats_new.htm

[Joseph A. Ferry]

Originally Posted by gromicko

The advantage of investing in your inspection business now (and for most inspectors, "investing" means "marketing") is that your bed-wetting competitors are all curled up in the fetal position. Take their markets away from them!

Indeed!

[Wayne B. Wilson]

Originally Posted by jferry1

I think that the "first time buyer" credit and the "cash for clunkers" program violate the Equal Protection provisions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the US Constitution.

How do you get that from the fourteenth Amendment?

[Joseph A. Ferry]

Originally Posted by wwilson3

How do you get that from the fourteenth Amendment?

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

[Wayne B. Wilson]

So in plain Language ( you can type slow for us dummies) how would cash for clunkers and the first time tax credit do this Violation. Not being a smart *** i am just curious. and if it is why has no one approached it that way.

[Gary L. Farnsworth]

Any government spending is paid by us, the taxpayers. More spending by Obama and his cronies, the more in taxes we will have to pay, sooner or later.

There is no way that 5.2 million homes sold for July. There is only an inventory of 4.1 million homes? Math is not correct. Perhaps that is a "adjusted" rate. Sounds like Obamanomics.

[Joseph A. Ferry]

Originally Posted by wwilson3

How do you get that from the fourteenth Amendment?

It's right next to where it says that you can kill your full term baby with impunity.

[Wayne B. Wilson]

Originally Posted by jferry1

It's right next to where it says that you can kill your full term baby with impunity.

As i expected No answer to explain it. to us little guys . just put another smoke screen up. Very good indeed .

[Nick Gromicko]

I don't see it as a violation of equal protection under the law, but it is a conflict of interest. Obama buys a bankrupt company with our money, then takes more of our money and uses it to bring in customers to his company. The clunkers and the consumers where just a way of making it not appear so bad and camouflaging the stupidity of his purchase of a portion of a bankrupt company for more than its historic market cap high (dumbest business move in all of human history).

[Brian E. Kelly]

More signs of life in the Phoenix market

[Kevin M. Leonard]

Last-minute clunker deals swamp auto dealers

"Our phones have been ringing off the hook," said a giddy Pete Richards, general manager of Ed Voyles Honda in Marietta, Georgia. "... It's been great. Phenomenal."

The program has generated so much traffic and new-car buzz that even non-qualifying and used car sales have jumped, Richards said.