With slower sales pace, inventory remains at 8.8 months

Inman News / California Association of Realtors

Sales of existing homes fell 11.4 percent in June compared to a year ago, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million homes, the National Association of Realtors reported today.

The last time home sales dipped below that pace was November, 2002, when the rate was 5.73 million homes per year. In 2005, at the height of the housing boom, sales of existing homes hit 7.08 million.

The drop in June sales from last year was even more drastic in the West (19.1 percent) but fell less sharply in the Northeast (7.3 percent) and Midwest (8.1 percent). The decline in sales in Southern states from June 2006 to June 2007 matched the national average, 11.4 percent.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at C.A.R.

Countrywide Financial’s quarterly report revealed a spike in delinquencies. Why even high-quality borrowers are falling behind.

Les Christie, CNNMoney.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The subprime mortgage meltdown has begun to spread to prime loans as even credit-worthy borrowers have started to fall behind on payments.

On Tuesday, Countrywide Financial (Charts, Fortune 500), the nation’s largest mortgage lender, attributed a big drop in profits to a spike in delinquencies among prime borrowers of “second-lien loans,” including home equity loans and home equity lines of credit.

These loans were often “piggybacked” onto first mortgages to help finance low- or no-down home purchases. They were also taken out by prime - but overburdened - borrowers to help pay high housing bills or fund their lifestyles.

In the past, mortgage delinquencies were tied to personal problems or basic economic reversals, such as a job loss. Today, many delinquencies can be traced to unaffordably high home prices

To view all of this article, please visit this link at CNNMoney.com

California Association of Realtors / Car.org

LOS ANGELES – Home sales decreased 24.7 percent in June in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home increased 3.2 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

“The focus on foreclosures and subprime lending is ongoing and, coupled with higher inventories of homes for sale, is prompting many would-be buyers to play a ‘wait-and-see’ role,” said C.A.R. President Colleen Badagliacco. “However, well-maintained homes with curb appeal that are priced for today’s market continue to sell. It’s often a matter of counseling buyers and sellers to set realistic expectations on both sides of the transaction.”

“First-time buyers continue to be impacted by tighter mortgage underwriting standards and the affordability challenge, which has not improved significantly despite price declines in most regions of the state,” she said.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 364,280 in June at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity decreased 24.7 percent from the 483,690 sales pace recorded in June 2006.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at the California Association of Realtors web-site

New data show weakness in all sections of the U.S.

AP / MSNBC
WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes fell for a fourth straight month in June and even a small increase in home prices was not enough to lift the gloom surrounding the housing industry.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes dropped by 3.8 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million units, the slowest sales pace in 4½ years.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at MSNBC

Lew Sichelman / Realty Times

The housing outlook continues to become more dour by the week.

At the Southeast Builders Conference in Orlando earlier this month, Mark Zandi of Moody’s economy.com said the sector in not likely to recover fully until 2010. And in Washington, David Seiders of the National Association of Home Builders said “most indicators point toward further deterioration.”

Also in Washington, Fannie Mae Chief Economist David Berson has once again lowered his projections for home sales and starts for 2007. Home prices will continue to fall as well, he said in his latest monthly forecast.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at Realty Times

More borrowers expected to lose homes in second half of year

Inman News

Lenders sent California homeowners the highest number of mortgage default notices in more than a decade during the second quarter, the result of flat or falling prices, anemic sales and a market struggling with the excesses of the 2004-2005 home-buying frenzy, a real estate information service reported.

Lenders filed 53,943 notices of default (NoDs) during the April-through-June period, up 15.4 percent from 46,760 for the previous quarter, and up 158 percent from 20,909 for second-quarter 2006, according to DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at InManNews

Housing slump could hurt consumer spending; Fed is moving to protect consumers from predatory mortgage lending.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)

Losses in the fast-unraveling subprime lending market could top $100 billion, but the Federal Reserve is taking measures to protect borrowers, according to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.