We’re not too surprised by a winter sales slowdown, but the nationwide inventory numbers caught us by surprise. According to Reuters:
Sales of existing U.S. homes slowed in October and the inventory of unsold houses rose to the highest level in nearly 20 years, a trade group said on Monday in a report confirming the end of the nation’s housing boom.
Sales of previously owned homes fell 2.7 percent from September’s upwardly revised 7.29 million unit annual pace, and the drop would have been even larger if not for a surge in home-buying linked to Hurricane Katrina, the National Association of Realtors said.
“The housing sector has likely passed its peak … and the boom is winding down to an expansion,” NAR chief economist David Lereah said. “Many of our hot housing markets are transitioning from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market.”
Welcome to transition.
∙ US Existing Home Sales Fall 2.7 Percent in October [Reuters]
∙ Top O’ The Market To You! [SocketSite]