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Title: **New-home sales fall, 2011 could be worst year yet** Post by: Coach Hank Crisp on August 23, 2011, 01:30:07 PM http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NEW_HOME_SALES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-08-23-10-14-07
Quote WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes fell for the third straight month in July, a sign that housing remains a drag on the economy. If the current pace continues, 2011 would be the worst year for new-home sales in nearly half a century. Sales fell nearly 1 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 298,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That's less than half the 700,000 that economists say represent a healthy market. Last year, 323,000 homes were sold - the worst year on records that go back to 1963. While new homes represent less than one-fifth of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs and $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders. High unemployment, larger required down payments and tougher lending standards are preventing many people from buying homes. Plunging stocks and a growing fear that the U.S. could tip back into another recession are also keeping people from entering the troubled housing market. |