Purchases of new homes fell to an annual rate of 795,000, an 8.3 percent decline from July, as inventory levels rose to their highest level since March, the Commerce Department said this morning. The median price for a new home was down 7.5 percent from a year ago, to $225,700, marking the steepest monthly price drop since December 1970.
You have to go back to Nixon to find a situation this bad. How fitting. And remember, it is only going to get worse over the next 6-8 months. Hang on to your hats, kids.
Adding...
You got to love this quote further down in the article:
In a spot of sunlight for the economy, the number of new unemployment claims filed last week dipped to 298,000, its lowest level since early May. The figure, a 15,000 decrease from the week ended Sept. 14, beat analysts’ expectations, though some analysts warned against extrapolating a trend from a single week’s data.
I'd love to know who the analysts are that aren't warning about extrapolating a trend from a single data point. I'm almost certain that there aren't any. But without that line, this "ray of sunlight" argument (an extension of the "there are two sides to every story" nonsense that lazy journalists always fall back on) simply falls apart. A trend is a line. At a bare minimum it requires two points. Here we have one.But no matter... the NYT has its script and it must be followed, no matter what reality might dictate.
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