According to ALAN ZIBEL and J.W. ELPHINSTONE (2010), AP Real Estate Writers, sales of previously occupied homes plunged last month to the lowest level in 15 years, despite the lowest mortgage rates in decades and bargain prices in many areas. July's sales fell by more than 27 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday (Zibel & Elphinstone, 24 Aug 2010).
It was the largest monthly drop on records dating back to 1968, and sharp declines were recorded in all regions of the country (Zibel & Elphinstone, 24 Aug 2010).
The plunge in home sales also magnified fears about the broader economy.
"The housing market is undermining the already faltering wider economic recovery," said Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics. "With the increasingly inevitable double-dip in prices yet to come, things could yet get a lot worse." Sales were particularly weak among homes in the lower- to mid-priced ranges. For example, in the Midwest, homes priced between $100,000 and $250,000 tumbled nearly 47 percent (Zibel & Elphinstone, 24 Aug 2010).
It seems the spend free Democratic Congress and the Obama plan is not working. Today in my home state of Massachusetts, Mr. Obama’s close friend Governor Patrick Duval was bragging about this month’s record hiring of nearly 16,000 new employees but Mr. Obama and Gov. Duval both did not mention that the Mass. State unemployment is still at just over 9%.
Nothing to brag about for the new type of politicians that spend, spend, spend, and then spend more of our tax dollars. The main difference is that now town, city, state, and federal taxes are all climbing at record high levels and the economy is still lagging under their poor leadership.
It seems Harvard grads are not good at determining economic theory. Seems like most state universities are doing much better in determining economic theory that Harvard networking grads that were solid “D” students.