September 26, 2006
House Prices Expected to Fall More
House Prices Expected to Fall More
According to the National Association of Realtors, home prices are projected to fall for the rest of the year, with sellers being forced to accept a new reality: Buyers now wield the power, with the supply of homes for sale at a 13-year high.
The median-priced U.S. single-family detached home — half cost more, half less — fell 1.7% in August to $225,700, compared with a year ago. The decline is no doubt jarring to sellers, who haven't seen prices fall nationally since April 1995. The price drop was also sharp, the second-steepest in 38 years.
Sales of existing homes, meantime, fell for the fifth month in a row.
