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Home Prices, Consumer Confidence Nosedive

Housing trouble worsens as recession worries mount

(Newser) - Home prices plummeted again in January, falling a record 10.7% compared to January 2007, according to the bellwether S&P Case/Shiller Hope Price composite. The March consumer confidence index, also out today, plunged to a 5-year low in yet another indication of recession, Bloomberg reports. The Conference Board measures...

Wall Street Sneezes; Heartland Catches Cold

Worries about a recession are hitting home with Americans

(Newser) - The high-profile economic woes plaguing Wall Street and previously hot housing markets are spreading, raising the possibility of the worst recession Americans have faced in years. The New York Times crisscrosses the country, assembling anecdotal evidence—suddenly thrifty brides, unsold construction equipment, sinking earnings at FedEx—that suggests the slowdown...

Crisis Is More of Confidence Than Credit
Crisis Is More
of Confidence Than Credit
ANALYSIS

Crisis Is More of Confidence Than Credit

Times scribe connects dots from housing boom to Bear Stearns

(Newser) - The credit crisis that’s roiled financial markets has its genesis in the housing boom that began in 1998, David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times. The boom led lenders to create new financing options—including subprime loans—as investors saw potential for huge returns. Low interest rates encouraged...

Stocks Flat After Roller Coaster
Stocks Flat After Roller Coaster
MARKETS

Stocks Flat After Roller Coaster

Market buffeted by more ugly data, soothing Bernanke testimony

(Newser) - Stocks ended mainly flat after mixed news had indices seesawing throughout today's session, the Wall Street Journal reports. Economic news was bad in general, but Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and housing regulators cheered the markets with upbeat comments. The Dow ended up 9.36 to 12,694.28, the...

Stocks Rise Despite Bad Vibes
Stocks Rise Despite Bad Vibes
MARKETS

Stocks Rise Despite Bad Vibes

Dow reverses three-day decline

(Newser) - The Dow climbed 46.90 points to 12,247 in the face of bad news, ending a seesaw day up and breaking a three-day slump. Existing homes sales fell 1.5% in December, and tech bellwether Cisco reported weaker third-quarter growth than expected, but prices were low enough to stave...

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

Decline tops even worst estimate

(Newser) - New home sales fell much farther than expected in November, hitting their lowest point since 1995, Bloomberg reports, and the slide only likely to get worse. Sales fell to an annual pace of 647,000, a 9% drop from October’s revised-down 711,000 rate. Prices are falling, but buyers...

Squeezed Owners Seek Tax Break as Home Values Drop

Local governments feel the pinch as property taxes decline

(Newser) - With property values falling across much of the nation, more homeowners are asking for reassessments, looking for a break from property taxes that inflated before the subprime mortgage balloon burst, reports the New York Times. For local governments, especially in areas already suffering from high rates of foreclosure, declining property...

'08 Subprime Fallout: At Least 1.4M Foreclosures

Mortgage crisis slams economy across the board

(Newser) - The subprime mortgage fallout will continue through 2008, with 1.4 million Americans facing foreclosure, municipalities losing more than $6.6 billion in taxes, and housing values plummeting up to 16%, says a US Conference of Mayors report out today. The analysis projects slowed GDP growth and consumer spending and...

US New-Home Sales Rebound in September

(Newser) - In the face of dismal August numbers, sales of new homes in September increased 4.8%, driven by demand in the western US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite the unexpected bump, the updated August figures, which reflect an 11-year low, are fueling worries the economy will remain pinned under...

August Home Price Plunge Is Biggest Since 1970

New-home sales also off more than forecast

(Newser) - New-home sales fell 8.3% in August, Bloomberg reports, a greater decline than predicted. Housing prices fell over last year, with the 7.5% decrease the biggest drop since 1970. Sales fell to an annual pace of 795,000, lowest in seven years. And that may not signal the housing...

Pending Home Resales Drop to Record Lows

Vicious cycle of credit crunch and housing slump continues

(Newser) - In yet another sign of the troubled housing market infecting the ailing credit market, the number of home resales plunged to a record low in July. The measure, which tracks the number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes, dropped 12.2% to 89.9, its lowest level...

Bush Promises Mortgage Relief
Bush Promises Mortgage Relief

Bush Promises Mortgage Relief

Fed agencies to offer aid to help Americans during credit squeeze

(Newser) - The government will roll up its sleeves and aid homeowners battered by the subprime mortgage crunch, but it will forsake “speculators” trying to exploit the crisis, President Bush said today. The FHA will step in and help delinquent borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing at lower rates, but experts predict...

Consumer Confidence Plunges
Consumer Confidence Plunges

Consumer Confidence Plunges

Vital index hits level not seen since post-Katrina unrest

(Newser) - Consumer confidence dived in August to its lowest level since right after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Though not as steep as expected, the drop reflects the squeeze stock market uncertainty and lower home values are putting on Americans' wallets and peace of mind, Bloomberg reports. "The things that are...

Home Prices Show Record Drop
Home Prices Show Record Drop

Home Prices Show Record Drop

Consumer confidence off too; the credit market is to blame, again

(Newser) - The credit market is continuing to weigh on economic indicators, Bloomberg reports, as home prices and consumer confidence both notched records in their downward swoon. A report released today showed home values down an unprecedented 3.2% in the second quarter. Consumer confidence this month fell to its lowest levels...

Home Resales Down For Fifth Straight Month

Decline lower than expected, but unlikely to stop, experts say

(Newser) - Existing home sales slumped again in July—the fifth straight month the figures have been off and a sign that the market-draining housing downturn will continue. Though the 0.2 percent decline was the smallest movement since 2002, experts expect sales to continue dropping, according to Bloomberg.

New-Home Sales Grow, Spur Wall St.
New-Home Sales Grow, Spur Wall St.

New-Home Sales Grow, Spur Wall St.

But new figures don't fully reflect credit market's impact, analysts say

(Newser) - New-home sales grew 2.8% last month, delivering an unexpected bit of good news to investors still reeling from the credit crunch. But the housing market, which had been rebounding in recent months from a slump, will likely show renewed weakness after he mortgage crisis dust settles, Bloomberg reports.

Consumer Confidence, New Home Sales Slump

Grim economic indicators continue to stack up

(Newser) - Indicating that the topsy-turvy economy probably won't be righting itself anytime soon, consumer confidence dropped in May, as did new home sales, a signal that the reeling housing market has yet to hit bottom. The Fed will likely take up consumer worries at a 2-day meeting that starts tomorrow, Bloomberg...

Home Sales Plunge to 4-Year Low
Home Sales Plunge to
4-Year Low

Home Sales Plunge to 4-Year Low

Inventory glut, rising mortgage rates bode ill for quick rebound

(Newser) - Sales of existing homes fell again last month, while the number of homes languishing on the market hit a 15-year high. The median price sank to $223,700, the AP reports, and thanks in part to the woes of the subprime mortgage sector, overall sales were 10.3% below last...

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