Homes Sales Drop to 1993 Levels

The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors reports today that sales for all properties for January 2009 was 974. The number of single family homes at 821 has not been this low since January 1993 when the total single family home sales were 740. The 740 sales figure did not include Rutherford County which at the time had its own MLS.

Below is the full text of the release

MIDDLE TENNESSEE REAL ESTATE MARKET

FEELS IMPACT OF NATIONAL ECONOMIC TRENDS

There were 974 home closings reported for the month of January, according to figures provided by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors®. This represents a decrease of 40.7 percent from the 1,644 closings reported for the same period last year. “The real estate market in Middle Tennessee is clearly feeling the effects of the national economy,” said GNAR President Mike Nichols . “This is the first time we have had fewer than one thousand closings in one month since February of 1994. The Greater Nashville area was slower to feel the full impact of the current national economic situation, and we are traditionally on the early side of recovery, but right now the market is slower than anyone wants it to be." "The standard formula items, such as interest rates and available inventory are all positive. However, when people don't have jobs, or don't have confidence that their jobs are reasonably secure, they are not likely to purchase homes or other significant items. Perhaps the passing of the stimulus package this week will initiate an increase in consumer confidence, but it is likely to take some time before the market really shows solid signs of recovery," Nichols said. "It does appear that rents have increased, so once people begin to feel confident again, it will make even more sense for them to consider the purchase of a home rather than continuing to rent." A comparison of sales by category for January is: Closings Residential Condominium Multi-family Farms/Land/Lots January 2008 1,644 1,364 188 24 68 January 2009 974 821 103 16 34 There were 1,282 sales pending at the end of the month, compared with 1,924 pending sales at this time last year. The average number of days on the market for a single-family home was 89 days. The median residential price for a single-family home during January was $165,000, and for a condominium it was also $165,000. This compares with last year’s median residential and condominium prices of $179,900 and $158,890, respectively. Inventory at the end of January was 22,509, up from 21,952 in January 2008. The current inventory of properties by category, compared to last year, is: A comparison of inventory by category for January is: Total Inventory Residential Condominium Multi-family Farms/Land/Lots January 2008 21,952 14,008 2,418 385 5,141 January 2009 22,509 13,551 2,358 320 6,280 “Inventory is actually down in every category but farm, land and lots,” said Nichols. “That is an indication that land available for development is not being purchased, as the need for new homes is limited in light of current available inventory and sales activity. There is a good selection of homes available and ready for those interested in buying now, or for when consumer confidence strengthens and sales activity increases."

New home sales fell to their lowest level since 1963

From John Cherry LANDAMERICA VALUATION CORPORATION 4300 Alexander Dr. # 200 Alpharetta, GA 30022 Toll Free: 800.207.7959 Fax: 770.777.6036 New home sales fell to their lowest level since 1963 in December continuing a downward trend that has been in place since mid-2005. Sales of new homes declined 14.7% last month to an annualized pace of 331,000. As weak as this sales pace is, it could be overstated because of the high number of contract cancellations that are not accounted for in the data. For all of 2008, sales have declined 44.8% and are now 76.2% below their peak reached in July 2005. Regionally, new home sales fell in all areas with the sharpest declines in the Northeast and West. The sluggish pace of new construction has kept inventories at a minimum with the inventory of new homes for sale down to 357,000 in December from 397,000 in November. However because of the greatly reduced pace of sales, the supply increased to 12.9 months from 12.5 previously. Prices also r emain on a downward slope with median prices dropping 9.3% to $206,500 over the last year and average sales prices decreasing 13.2% to $246,900. The downside surprise in new home sales seems to have caught many off-guard given the drop in mortgage interest rates and the rebound in existing home sales last month and the fact that the new home market just does not have that much further to fall. The outlook is not good either with new home sales expected to continue weakening until demand can be restored.

New orders for durable goods sank 2.6% in December more than an expected decline of 2.0%. Most major industry categories posted sharp declines last month except orders for electrical equipment. Spending on big ticket items and capital goods by consumers and businesses has fallen off sharply during the recession. The weakness in new orders portends of continued weakness in 2009.

Jobless claims increased 3k to 588k for the week ending January 24. Initial jobless claims remain elevated indicating a high pace of layoffs. Continuing jobless claims swelled by 159k to a record high of 4.776 million for the week ending January 17. The sharp gains in continuing claims show that people are remaining on unemployment benefits longer because hiring remains extremely weak. The insured jobless rate jumped to 3.6% its highest level since 1983.

Cooper Votes Against Stimulus

Jim Cooper was one of only 11 Democrats who voted against the $819 Billion Ecomonic Stimulus package. All the House Republicans toed the party line and voted against the package.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012800196.html

http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/111/house/1/46

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 2:53 PM CDT

Tennessee ranks 15th in foreclosures

Nashville Business Journal

Tennessee had the 15th highest foreclosure rate in the nation in September, according to data released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc.

Tennessee had 4,098 properties in foreclosure in September, or one per every 654 households, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based private marketer of foreclosure properties.

Tennessee’s foreclosure rate was up 1.61 percent from September 2007.

Nevada held the top spot for the 21st consecutive month in September. It was followed by Florida, California, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey and Indiana.

Nationwide, foreclosure filings fell 12 percent in September from August to 265,968 properties. That is up 21 percent from September 2007. One in every 475 U.S. households was in foreclosure in September.

“Much of the 12 percent decrease in September can be attributed to changes in state laws that have at least temporarily slowed down the pace at which lenders are moving forward with foreclosures,” James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, says in a statement.

Six states — California, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan and Nevada — accounted for more than 60 percent of U.S. foreclosure activity in the third quarter, according to RealtyTrac. California alone accounted for more than 27 percent of total filings

Sales Continue Their Downward Trend

Continuing the downward trend the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors reported a 19.8% drop in sales compared to September 2007. (http://www.gnar.org/mlsrelease.htm) Year to date sale are down 27.5% and third quarter sales were down 26.5%.

There were two positive notes. Single Family inventory was down compared to last year for the second straight month, and down nearly 600 homes compared to last month. And the number of pending sale this year verses last year is tightening. This indicates that the percentage decline in sales in October is likely not going to match last months.

Dirty Secret Of The Bailout: Thirty-Two Words That None Dare Utter

From Jason Linkins

jason@huffingtonpost.com
A critical - and radical - component of the bailout package proposed by the Bush administration has thus far failed to garner the serious attention of anyone in the press. Section 8 (which ironically reminds one of the popular name of the portion of the 1937 Housing Act that paved the way for subsidized affordable housing ) of this legislation is just a single sentence of thirty-two words, but it represents a significant consolidation of power and an abdication of oversight authority that's so flat-out astounding that it ought to set one's hair on fire. It reads, in its entirety:

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

In short, the so-called "mother of all bailouts," which will transfer $700 billion taxpayer dollars to purchase the distressed assets of several failed financial institutions, will be conducted in a manner unchallengeable by courts and ungovernable by the People's duly sworn representatives. All decision-making power will be consolidated into the Executive Branch - who, we remind you, will have the incentive to act upon this privilege as quickly as possible, before they leave office. The measure will run up the budget deficit by a significant amount, with no guarantee of recouping the outlay, and no fundamental means of holding those who fail to do so accountable.

The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors released the August 2008 homes sales figures today. Single Family home sales were down 32.3% with median single family home prices dropping 6.4%.

As I indicated last month the inventory of homes has stabilized, and in fact dropped from 15,844 in July to 15,636 which is the lowest it has been since March. We will need to see a continuation of the declining inventory coupled with increase in sales to bring the market back in to balance. The decline in inventory is a good start.

http://www.gnar.org/mlsrelease.htm