August 25, 2004
BOOMTIME IN HOOVERVILLE:
July fails to chill housing market (JEANNINE AVERSA, 8/25/04, Associated Press)
Sales of previously owned homes declined in July but still posted their third-best sales pace on record -- a sign that the housing market, while slowing a bit, remains in good shape.The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that sales of existing homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.72 million units, representing a 2.9 percent decrease from June's record-high pace of 6.92 million units. [...]
Even though the drop nationwide in July was steeper than the 2 percent decline some economists were forecasting, the level of sales was still considered buoyant. July's sales were running 8.6 percent higher than the pace for the same month last year.
''We're off the highs, but the levels we are at are very, very healthy,'' said David Lereah, the association's chief economist.
He said he expects sales of previously owned homes to set record highs for all of 2004.
Richard Yamarone, an economist at Argus Research Corp., agreed with that assessment, saying he has no worries about the health of the housing market.
Just because we have a growing economy, rising population and record employment doesn't mean the housing market can stay strong.... Posted by Orrin Judd at August 25, 2004 9:38 AM
"Even though the drop nationwide in July was steeper than the 2 percent decline some economists were forecasting"
All the headlines I saw on this number yesterday were that it was worse than expected. Once again the expectations game can turn a good number into a bad number.
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