October 2008 - Existing Home Sales Report Worse Than Expected

As reported by CNNMoney.com - "Existing home sales tumble:"

Sales of existing homes fell in October and prices continued to decline as potential buyers remain sidelined by the weak economy, according to a real estate group's report issued Monday.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales by homeowners slid in October to an annual pace of 4.98 million. That was down 3.1% from September's revised reading of 5.14 million.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting sales to have declined to an annual rate of 5.05 million in October.

On a year-over-year basis, sales were down 1.6%.

Housing supply increased slightly:

Total housing inventory at the end of October eased 0.9% to 4.23 million existing homes, according to the report. At the current sales pace, that represents a 10.2 months of supply, which was up from the 10-month supply in September.

The West bucks the trend with strong sales numbers:

Sales declined nationwide on a monthly basis. But sales in the West rose 37.5% over year-ago levels, suggesting that some buyers are taking advantage of distressed sales in overbuilt areas in California and Nevada. - CNNMoney.com

The U.S. housing market remains on an extremely shaky foundation. It does continue to appear that extreme pricing pressures have pushed home prices low enough to entice a fair number of investors and home buyers as indicated by the strong numbers posted in the West.

Over the past few months, there have been and continue to be intermittent bright spots and hints at positively trending indicators but, every step of the way, the depression like economic conditions that we continue to face continue to hold back housing.

Sadly, times remain very grim and look to continue, in the near term, on the same wayward path as housing fights for equilibrium.