[-2.7%] Was that a blip in the August existing home sales report
After just noticing that I haven't written a real estate related post in the past week, maybe it would be a good idea to get back to the purpose of the Charleston real estate blog and not write about water closets as I had intended to today.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released the August existing home sales report yesterday and to the surprise of many, sales declined in August from July. The highlights:
Sales declined 2.7% from July 09 to August 09
Sales increased 3.4% from August 08 to August 09
Median sales price was $177,700 in August 09, down 2.1% from July 09 and down 12.5% from August 2008.
Inventory declined 10.8% from July 09 and 16.4% from August 08
The absorption rate was 8.5 months in August 09, down from 9.3 months in July 09
In the South, existing-home sales were down 3.1 percent to an annual pace of 1.89 million in August but are 1.6 percent above August 2008. The median price in the South was $157,400, which is 11.0 percent below a year ago.
As I wrote a month ago about the previous existing home sales report,
Actually, July was a very good month because usually sales decline slightly from June to July due to vacation and then August is usually higher. I would expect August to be the best month this year in the Charleston real estate market due to low interest rates, demand driven by the first time homebuyer tax credit and improving sentiment about the economy.
So was that a blip or are we not out of the woods yet.
And speaking of water closets, (I just have to get this in) my wife wondered why homes today required separate rooms (or closets) for the toilet. Here's a little history of the water closet with a brief mention of the legendary Thomas Crapper who is mythically credited with the invention of the toilet.
Or could you say that the housing market is still in the crapper? 