By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last update: 11:48 a.m. EST Jan. 24, 2008
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) ? Capping the worst year for the housing market in 25 years, resales of U.S. homes and condos fell 2.2% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.
For all of 2007, sales of single-family homes fell 13%, the biggest decline since 1982.
The median sales price of an existing single-family home fell for the first time in the 40-year history of the survey, dropping 1.8%. Although no hard data are available, most economists believe median home prices hadn’t fallen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
December resales at 4.89 million were weaker than the 4.98 million pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See Economic Calendar.
December’s sales pace was down 22% compared to the previous December and was down 32% from their peak two years ago.
Sales of single-family homes dropped 2% in December to a 4.31 million annual rate, the lowest in 10 years. Condominium sales fell 3.3% to a 580,000 rate.
The median sales price fell to $206,500 in December, down 6.5% in the past year. The median sales price can be influenced by the mix of home sold in various price ranges or regionally. Fewer expensive homes sold in the West, for instance, would lower the median sales price even if the price of no inpidual home fell.
See the full article here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/december-drop-caps-worst-housing/story.aspx?guid=%7B5A97DE86-D04F-4822-9D0C-84F98D35C29C%7D
