NAR quarterly is reporting Q3 home prices slide nationwide. (From WSJ):
median home prices continued to decline, falling in 123 of 153 metro areas compared with the same period last year. The national median home price came in at $177,900–11% below the third quarter last year.
30% of sales, up 11.4% of Q2, are distressed properties. The first time home buyer credit is also attributed to increased sales.
All metro area home prices are attached to this post.
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People can't sell their homes because
1) mortgage is underwater - owe more than what home is worth;
or
2) no buyers of home at prices needed to sell.
This new tax credit will be useless.
RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.
RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.
Here in Florida
We can't sell our condos because people in New Jersey and PA who want to sell their homes and move here are under water. I saw something similar in England in 1992, when the EC Exchange Rate Mechanism forced interest rates up and home prices down -- people in Manchester couldn't relocate to London or Brighton for new jobs because they couldn't sell their homes. So we are stuck for a while. Here in florida, with 18% of the population 65 and over, we may have new supply coming on stream as people move to assisted living or die. We tell them to look at the bright side, in the long term things will come into balance.
Tax credit? We need to raise the ceiling on capital losses that can be used to offset ordinary income for tax purposes. Real estate investment could then be sold at a loss and offset by higher IRA/401(k) distributions.
Frank T.
Frank T.