The Housing Abyss
[BusinessWeek]
Why the worst may be yet to come as forces battering the market gain strength. And the remedy coming from Congress? It's likely to fall short of the mark.
Exisiting Home Sales Fall 15.9%
[The Big Picture] [Barry Ritholtz]
• Resales increased 2% to a 4.99 million annual rate (4.89 million pace in April)
• Median existing house price dropped 6.3% from May 2007
• Sales were down 16% versus May 2000.
• About one-third of total sales last month were “short sales'' that reflected foreclosures or distressed properties;
• Banks repossessed twice as many homes in May as in the same month last year;
• Inventory of unsold homes at the end of May fell 1.4% to 4.49 million;
• Mortgage Bankers Association's index of loan applications to purchase homes fell last week to the lowest level in more than five years.
Harvard on Housing
[BusinessWeek: Hot Property]
Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies came out with its annual snapshot of the housing industry this week and it is bleak. The report, the university’s 20th, calls this the worst housing downturn in a generation.
Public pension fund executives are pushing ahead with investments aimed at revitalizing urban areas in their backyards despite the political risks that come with pursuing non-financial goals. Sponsors of a recent Harvard Law School/Oxford University conference on “Pension Funds: Investing to Build Strong and Sustainable Communities,” said their data suggest growing momentum for such “economically targeted investing.”
