As traders focus on a spate of upbeat earnings and politicians continue to tease the public with talk of sizable debt reduction, housing remains a headwind to a more permanent recovery.
Existing home sales eased up slightly in June, falling from an annualized pace of 4.81 million units in May to 4.77 million units in June, marking the third consecutive monthly drop in sales.
Unfortunately, the supply of houses on the market continues to edge higher, which seems likely to keep pressure on prices.
Housing affordability is at a record high, according to the National Association of Realtors, and mortgage rates have been hovering well below 5%.
But there is just too much uncertainty in the housing market and the economy in general.
Some of potential buyers are still reluctant to enter the market and are taking a wait and see attitude on prices, while others who would like to move up are struggling to sell their house.
Still, there’s another segment of the population that has been forced out of their homes and are simply not in a position to buy at the current time.
0 comments:
Post a Comment