Bloomberg: “U.S. Housing Starts, Permits Drop to Record Low Pace”

Bloomberg reports today: …Building permits, a sign of future residential projects, dropped 12 percent to a 708,000 pace, the lowest since at least 1960… Compared with October 2007, work began on 38 percent fewer homes… The decrease in starts was led by a 31 percent decline in the Northeast… “We are in a crisis situation,” […]

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Pioneer Valley Home Prices Fell 4.7% in Third Quarter

Yesterday’s Springfield Republican reports: Median home prices fell 4.7 percent across the Pioneer Valley to $205,000 in the third quarter, according to the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley. Also during July, August and September, the number of homes sold fell 16.8 percent compared to the same three months in 2007, according to figures released Wednesday.Click […]

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AP: “Home construction falls sharply in September”

AP reported on Friday: Home construction falls sharply in September The Commerce Department reported Friday that construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 6.3 percent last month, a much bigger decline than the 1.6 percent decrease that had been expected. It pushed total production to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 817,000 units. That’s […]

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“Bay State median house-sale prices fell 9 percent in August”

Yesterday’s Boston Herald reports: Home prices fall 9% Bay State median house-sale prices fell 9 percent in August as the real estate slump hit Cape Cod and central Massachusetts especially hard, new figures show… Warren said just 2,302 condos changed hands last month – a 22.4 percent drop from August 2007… Also yesterday on Bloomberg: […]

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Springfield Republican: “Nearly 20 percent drop in home sales reported across Massachusetts”

The July 28 Republican reported: Nearly 20 percent drop in home sales reported across Massachusetts Single family home sales across the state fell 19 percent in the first half of the year compared with January through June in 2007, according to figures released today by The Warren Group. The median price also fell during 9.2 […]

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CNNMoney: “Home sales at 10 year low”

CNNMoney reports on sales of existing homes in June (July 24): The National Association of Realtors reported that sales by homeowners dipped in June to an annual pace of 4.86 million… That’s the lowest rate on record since the first quarter of 1998… The existing home sales rate – including single-family, town homes, condominiums and […]

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The Republican: “Home prices slide in Pioneer Valley”

The July 18 Republican reports on the state of the local housing market: Home prices slide in Pioneer Valley Hampshire County sales were down 29.3 percent and the median price was $270,000, down 3.1 percent compared with the second quarter of last year… There were 3,500 houses on the market July 1 compared with 3,300 […]

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Wall Street Journal: “Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities have dropped a record 15.3% in the past year”

Today’s Wall Street Journal reports: Home-Price Gains Are Erased, Now Stand at 2004-2005 Levels …Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities have dropped a record 15.3% in the past year and are now back to where they were in 2004, according to the Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor’s… The S&P/Case-Shiller […]

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AP: Backlog of unsold single-family homes at highest level since 1985

AP reports today: Sales of existing homes fall 1 percent in April, eighth drop in past 9 months The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales dropped by 1 percent to 4.89 million units, matching the all-time low set in January. These records go back to 1999. The median price for an existing […]

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New York Times: Downsides of Owning a Condo in a Downturn

Condo ownership presents some special hazards during an economic downturn. Even you personally are solvent, your fellow condo owners might not be. Today’s New York Times reports: Collateral Foreclosure Damage for Condo Owners When people buy condos, they expect their monthly fees will cover many of the responsibilities that they would otherwise have as owners […]

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