HBA Newswatch
April 23, 2008
BUILDER'S OPEN HOUSE DRAWS BONANZA OF BROKERS
By Al Heavens
To Long & Foster agent Mary Blair, yesterday's brokers' open house at the Links in West Chester seemed "just like the old days."
"There was excitement about something new, a buildup to a big event - something really special," said Blair, who works out of the real estate firm's Devon office.
That was just what builder John Benson, of the Benson Cos. in Malvern, was hoping to hear.
"We have always been known as a single-family builder, and I wanted to introduce brokers and agents to the fact that we've been shifting to multifamily," said Benson, a third-generation builder.
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HOME SALES FALL, BUT SIGNS OF STABILITY EMERGE
By KELLY EVANS and SUDEEP REDDY
April 23, 2008
U.S. sales of previously owned homes declined in March as the housing-market slump continued, but two gauges of home prices provided a glimmer of hope that the downturn might be easing a bit.
Existing-home sales fell 2% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million, the National Association of Realtors said. The drop followed an increase of 2.9% in February, the first monthly gain since July. Home sales were down 19.3% from the 6.11-million-unit pace recorded in March 2007.
The languid sales pace has pushed inventories of unsold homes to a 9.9 months' supply at current sales rates. That large overhang has put downward pressure on prices for months, especially in areas hit hardest by the housing crisis.
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CONGRESS HAMMERS OUT BREAKS FOR HOMEOWNERS
By MARTIN A. VAUGHAN
April 23, 2008
In just a couple of years, Congress has gone from considering ways to collect more taxes from homeowners and individual real-estate investors, to dreaming up new tax breaks for home buyers. With foreclosures hitting about 7,500 a day nationwide in March, and median home prices declining in most U.S. markets, the shift in attitudes is no mystery.
Gone are the days of 2005, when an advisory panel appointed by President Bush recommended trimming the home-mortgage interest deduction to pay for lower income-tax rates. Many lawmakers scoffed at the proposal, but the fact that it was even put forward by the distinguished, bipartisan panel was remarkable in itself.
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