Slowing Housing Market News & Information
Thursday, September 06, 2007
At ConstructionDeal.com, we want to keep our contractors up to date on all the latest news and information that affects their companies. Here are a few excerpts of late-breaking stories on the slowing housing market:From Reuters :"U.S. house prices may fall further as credit availability tightens, according to a new study from the Cleveland Federal Reserve."
"'House prices may still fall in the future,' wrote the researchers. 'Any change in the ability to purchase a home, such as from innovations in the lending environment, can have a large impact on the level and volatility of housing prices.'"
"The study went on to forecast that the boom-bust cycle of lending could crimp the ability of households with a weaker credit profile to borrow."
From CNN Money: "Home Depot's CEO Frank Blake said Wednesday that the softness in the housing market and the subprime mortgage squeeze will probably carry through much of 2008."
"'In the beginning of this year, we had hoped to see the start of some bottoming in the housing market in the back-half of 2007. We don't think this will happen,' Blake told an analysts gathering."
"He added that 2007 'will continue to be a tough year.' More importantly, he said 'much of 2008 will face into the same headwinds.'"
"'There's a lot of speculative activity in the markets. And the subprime issue is putting additional pressure on consumers. We will see this play out over the next few quarters,' Blake said. On a regional basis, Blake said Florida and California were two markets that had suffered the most dramatic slowdown in terms of Home Depot’s business."
From the Daily Herald: "Because home sales and moves stimulate purchases of appliances, electronics and furniture, the giant chains that catered to house flippers and renovators have reported recession like results."
"Americans who were living high by taking out home-equity loans during the boom have watched their equity drop and are now faint of heart when it comes to big-ticket discretionary purchases. The nation's biggest retailing sector - automobiles - is likewise feeling the effects."
"John Crane, general sales manager at Ron Smith Buick Pontiac GMC Jeep in Merced, Calif., has seen a tremendous slowdown in the past six to eight months. 'People don't have the money to look at cars,' he says. 'They're having a hard time paying house payments. Now their second mortgages and 1 percent loans are coming up.'"
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