Record declines in housing in March - no recovery in site

are these price declines or sales volume declines?

Wow. The bad news just keeps coming.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aeVUkAzAEWmc&refer=home

And, for those who were pointing to the LIBOR as evidence that the credit crisis was over, Bloomberg posits otherwise.

"Home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas fell in March more than forecast as foreclosures surged, threatening to extend the housing slump."

Sounds like prices to me.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aRSStiFoF9HM&refer=home

this is to be expected as foreclosure sales surge and biggest price declines are worked through system. eventually this wave will end, but not for a while. I think foreclosure sales will remain high for at least another 2-4 quarters.

ugly numbers

"About 40 percent of deposits in the quarter converted into signed contracts, compared with 65 percent in the company’s strongest years, Toll said. "
Sounds like a lot of these Apts in contracts are gonna be back on the market. No need to get excited about the drop in listings for sale... The patients will be soon rewarded by another massive drop in sale prices!

Sledge, Are you saying that in the strongest year only 65% of the depositors signed and close their contracts?

"In sight."

NYC had a record 2.5% YOY price drop for March. So prices here are falling 30% per annum.

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/05/26/a-look-at-case-shiller-numbers-by-metro-area-9/

does this include Manhattan??

RE_PRO, agreed, Toll's 35% fail rate during the best of times is shocking. I suppose nobody noticed back in '06 when they had three buyers for every unit. And of course in a rising market, when a buyer fails on a contract, you keep the deposit and re-list the unit at a higher price. Now that they're at a 60% fail rate in a declining market, this looks really bad.

60% fail rate means you EXPECT that the person putting down the deposit will walk-away/sue for deposit back. Life must really suck for the salespeople. Are these 60% fails the real-estate equivalent of crackheads? Are there any buyers left who aren't real-estate crackheads?

This is old news.
The economy is bottoming, housing will probably too in the coming months. These numbers will change drastically come July.

RE_PRO, i'm not saying it, just highlighting what Courtney Schlisserman wrote in the article. I find these % questionable, it's sounds like almost half contracts are denied by the bank. If that's true, what did the banks use the bailout money for?
On the other hand, from a sideline buyer perspective, if that helps to drive prices even further down, i'm fine with it.

Toll usually develops houses or apartments in the burbs. They always have about a 20% walk away rate. I don't know what the usual contract terms are for those homes.

For people buying in manhattan in the last few years the closing rate was quite high (until recently, when lending became so difficult). people had no mortgage contingency, and if a mortgage broker told them they could get a loan, they almost always did. now we're seeing far more properties fall in and out of contract.

Toll Brothers: 110 3rd, Northside Piers, 5th Street Lofts, 303 E 33rd, North8

80sMan, yes, but those are recent developments. I'm talking about Toll's historical closing rates. And, yes, those may actually bring their averages down, once they are included.