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Pastimes : The Justa & Lars Honors Bob Brinker Investment Club -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (14815)	6/26/2000 10:19:00 AM
From: Wally Mastroly	Respond to of 15132

Justa, Re: '..existing home sales...' some details, ahead of the FOMC meeting: U.S. May Home Resales Rise 4.3% to 5.09 Million Annual Rate By The supply of homes for sale, expressed Washington, June 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. home resales unexpectedly increased in May as near-record consumer confidence and unemployment close to a 30-year low offset the effects of higher mortgage rates, an industry survey showed. Resales rose 4.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.09 million, the National Association of Realtors said. In April, resales fell 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.88 million. ``I thought interest rates would have gotten to us by now, but they haven't,'' said Wes Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. in Fairfax, Virginia. ``I think it has to do with consumer confidence'' which is close to a record. What's more, ``Everyone is still working.'' The report, a closely watched gauge of economic growth because sales of previously owned homes account for 85 percent of all houses on the market, surfaces as Federal Reserve policy- makers prepare for tomorrow's start of a two-day meeting on interest rates. The Fed's Open Market Committee has increased the overnight bank lending rate six times in the past year. The latest increase on May 16 put the federal funds rate at 6.5 percent, the highest in nine years. The Fed is aiming to hold down inflation and cool the economy. Analysts had expected a 1 percent decline in resales to a 4.83 million annual rate after April's originally reported 4.88 million. Existing home sales statistics are based primarily on closings, which typically come 30 days to 60 days after a buyer signs a contract for a home. That means sales of previously owned homes are affected more by changes in rates during the month covered by the report. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 8.15 percent in April and 8.24 percent in March. Those rates are down from the average of 8.33 percent in February. Even so, mortgage rates are higher than they were in April of last year when they averaged 6.92 percent. Median Prices The NAR report also showed: -- The median price of a home rose 0.8 percent to $137,200 last month from $136,100 in April. Home prices were the highest since August.

To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (14815)	6/26/2000 10:45:00 PM
From: Tradelite	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15132

Justa...re: your comment <<Check out existing home sales just reported. They surged 4.3%>> ____________________________ I'm just a lurker on your thread, an avid listener of Bob's, and someone who's been in real estate biz many years. Get a little antsy when people talk about home sales figures. Fact is, home sales figures involve contracts written anywhere from one to about three months ago but which didn't settle until the last reporting period. To put it another way, settlement (closing) dates sometimes happen long after the home was actually chosen and "bought" by the buyers, when they were in a buying mood and the economic climate supported their decision. Economic climates can change on a dime....or anytime the Fed acts. To explain it yet another way....... No one knows how many homes I and other agents have had under contract at any one time. The world only finds out when the homes actually go to closing (settlement). The economy can change quite a bit during the interim. Hope this contributes something new to the good conversation on this thread.