housing market: Here's another one of those "It's up... no... it's down" stories.
- 05/14/12 01:21 AM
Average home prices across the nation rose a meager 0.2% in February to $195,000, according to LPS Applied Analytics, with early data from the firm suggesting another flat increase of 0.3% in March. The increase in seasonally adjusted prices in February was the first rise since March 2010, and only the third rise in seasonally adjusted prices in five years. However, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm remains guarded about the future of the housing market. “Without a pickup in sales volumes from their current anemic levels, it’s hard to be more optimistic that the market may be nearing the end of its (1 comments)
All of the reports from the various "experts" and news outlets this week, and in previous weeks, can confuse people as to what is really going on within the housing market. You have home builders reporting on Wall Street, and other places, about housing starts and permits being down. You have the National Association of Realtors reporting sales of existing homes are up. And you also have short sales surpassing foreclosures, in sales, for the first time, ever. "Good News on Housing Permits More Than Offsets the Bad News on Starts”— HIS Global Insight