No comments needed. Excellent summary of the current housing market.If the U.S. housing market is not a bubble bursting, it is at least a boom deflating, as new data made clear today.New home sales sank 10.5% last month, the Commerce Department said, the biggest decline since April 1997 and far bigger than economists expected. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of home sales was the slowest in nearly two years. Sales have fallen in four of the past six months. Meanwhile, the number of unsold homes on the market rose more than 4%, representing a 6.3-month supply, the highest in more than a decade. Unsurprisingly for anyone with a vague knowledge of basic economic principles, rising supply and falling demand means new-home prices are falling. The median price for a new…

Not a good sign. But I knew it was coming. And it's only going to get worse in the years ahead.Do you know how to get information about the foreclosures in your area? Is there a website for that purpuse (I'm sure there is). I'd like to get access to that. I think it might be a good way to snap a bargain (not now, but in a year or two).In January, 103,540 homes were in foreclosure, up 27% from 81,290 in December and 45% above last year. January's foreclosure total was the highest level since RealtyTrac began releasing monthly reports in May 2005.January's 27% increase in foreclosures is consistent with the increasing foreclosure trend seen throughout 2005. In total, nearly 847,000 properties entered foreclosure in 2005, representing 0.7% of…

I'm a bit worried about the housing market. You probably know that I'm not buying a house at these prices, especially in the NJ area. But I'm worried that the buyers are over stretching themselves, and when the interest rates rise (a little more), many of them will not be able to pay for their mortgage. As a result, the pool of buyers will shorten. As a result, the whole economy might suffer. That's what I'm worried the most. But like I said, this frenzy cannot continue, and will not continue, forever. Every bubble inflates to the point when it bursts. Hopefully, it will only be by a slow deflation...There is an interesting article on Economist.com (one of my favorite magazines; recently subscribed to it), about the housing market in…

Housing is slowing down. No question about that: inventories are rising and sellers are having harder time selling. It's becoming a buyer's market. The following two quotes from WSJ by Justin Lahart give you a very good summary of the current housing market.The question is no longer whether housing is slowing, but how severe the slowdown is going to be.Still, a steep price decline is unlikely. Home builders, like sellers in general, will be slow to lower prices, opting instead to hold on to inventory in hopes of an eventual buyer.Reference* Investors Retreat From Housing Market -- FREE from WSJ.com* Cracks in the Foundation by Justin Lahart, WSJ.com (need a paid subscription)