Existing Home Sales Down 2.0 Percent In March
April 22, 2008 - Existing-home sales edged down in March, remaining within a narrow range of sales activity that has persisted since last September, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – were down 2.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (1) of 4.93 million units in March from a level of 5.03 million in February, and remain 19.3 percent below the 6.11 million-unit pace in March 2007. A rise in condo sales in March was offset by a drop in single-family sales. Regionally, sales rose in the Northeast and West but fell in the Midwest and South.
Are You Buying Or Selling A House In “Declining” ZIP Code?
Critics call it the new redlining. Many of the country’s largest mortgage lenders are imposing loan restrictions in entire counties or ZIP codes they rank as risky or “declining.”
On Jan. 25, Countrywide Bank sent mortgage brokers a list that categorized hundreds of counties as “soft markets” with rankings from one to five, in ascending order of perceived risk.
In areas rated 4 and 5 — roughly 100 counties in metropolitan areas nationwide — Countrywide said it will require 5 percent larger down payments from most applicants.