Realtors Forecast What Home Builders Know...

Realtors forecast what home builders know: Home sales this year will tumble, from the USA TODAY, reports that the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes were likely to drop 7.6% this year to 6.54 million, a downward revision from their previous forecast of a 6.5% drop. The NAR also said new homes sales are expected to drop 16.1% this year. "This year sales are slowing, homes are plentiful and sellers are negotiating," said NAR chief economist David Lereah. "Under these conditions, we'll probably see price dips temporarily below year-ago levels as the market works through a build-up in housing inventory. This is a normal pattern during a market correction, but home prices should return to positive territory within a few months and annual appreciation will be slower that historic norms," he added.



http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2006-09-07-homes-forecast_x.htm