The median sales price fell to $175,400 in December, down a record 15.3% compared with a year earlier. For all of 2008, median prices dropped 9.3% to the lowest level since 2004. The December rebound was led by a distressed-property sales, primarily in Western states such as California, Nevada and Arizona. For the month, distressed properties accounted for about 45% of all sales.
The NAR reported that in 2008, the total number of existing-home sales fell 13.1% to 4,912,000; In 2007, the number were 5,652,000 transactions. 2008 was This is the lowest volume since 1997 (4,371,000 sales).
Chart via Calculated Risk
Source: Existing-Home Sales Show Strong Gain In December NAR, January 26, 2009 http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/01/ehs_shows_strong_gain
U.S. Existing Home Sales Rise on Record Price Slump Bob Willis Bloomberg, Jan. 26 2009 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9w6qyDggjL0&
Existing-home sales rise 6.5% as prices plunge Rex Nutting MarketWatch, 10:01 a.m. EST Jan. 26, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/c47zd2
Originally published at The Big Picture blog and reproduced here with the author’s permission.
Sale prices of completed homes have fallen substantially due to a massive over- supply. The cost of construction is continuing to increase in some areas, driven mainly by costly changes in regulation ( building codes, zoning & planning regulations, permitting requirements ) & taxation in the form of impact fees. When the supply & demand is again in balence, these regulation driven cost increases will probably cause a large increase in housing costs, delaying recovery and pricing many out of the market altogether.