The headline of the day comes from a new release issued by the National Association of Realtors: “September existing-home sales ease, setting state [sic] for stable market.” See, a sliding sales rate and price declines are good things. Really.
Sales of existing homes dropped to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.18 million units in September, according to the NAR. That rate was down 1.9 percent from August and was 14.2 percent below the rate of 7.2 million recorded in September 2005. The median price of an existing home also dropped. It was $220,000 in September, 2.2 percent below the median for September 2005.
In the Midwest, existing homes were sold at an annualized rate of 1.39 million units in September, down 2.8 percent from August and down 13.7 percent from September 2005. The median home price in the Midwest was $169,000, 2.3 percent below the median in September ’05.
Hiisssssssss.