Housing isn't a buyer's market for many first-timers
First-time buyers are running into tough opponents in cash buyers. They accounted for almost a third of existing home sales in March and April, the National Association of Realtors says. Before the housing crash, cash buyers accounted for less than 10% of sales, NAR says.
The following chart shows homes bought with cash as reported by the Census Bureau. Note that there were 5,000 such homes in the first quarter (roughly 100 per state on average). This is well below the levels seen before the crisis hit.
Click to enlarge.
How can anyone spin that bearish data into something positive? Not a problem. It only requires 2 easy steps!
Step 1
Find an even more bearish chart showing houses bought with conventional mortgages.
Click to enlarge.
Step 2
Chart the cash purchases as a percentage of the the combination.
Click to enlarge.
Mega-Monster cash rally! Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Lock up the children! This ain't no mama's boy Sunday picnic! We're turning this country into a giant dust bowl!!
I hope I'm not giving all my trade secrets away. I don't want to ruin my chances at becoming the next Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors. David Lereah and Lawrence Yun are my heroes!
See Also:
Sarcasm Disclaimer
Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Houses Sold by Type of Financing, Cash Purchase
St. Louis Fed: Houses Sold by Type of Financing, Conventional
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart
I saw today an argument that I'd never seen before. House prices in London can't fall because if they fell there would be hordes of buyers from the outer suburbs and the commuter towns who'd rush to buy, thus forcing the prices back up.
ReplyDeleteNeat, eh?
dearieme,
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
Using that same logic, house prices in London can't rise either because if they rose there would be hordes of sellers from the inner city who'd rush to sell (cashing out and moving to the suburbs), thus forcing the prices back down!
I wonder what it must be like to have the world's most stable housing prices? ;)
How can anyone spin that bearish data into something positive?
ReplyDeleteNice post! People should take note of how well propagandists are paid. Very telling imo.
Here's a good one: "The no spin zone" hahahahahaha........
Here's a bonus: "Fair and balanced" hahahahahah....
You can't make this stuff up!
mab,
ReplyDelete"Ethical and honest"
This *really* filters out the ethical liars, lol.