September 24, 2008 at 12:00 pm by Tom Lydon
The wilting housing market is showing no signs of life, as existing home prices fall and real estate- and home construction-related exchange traded funds (ETFs) stall out.
As of August, the United States suffered a record drop in the price of existing homes as the sales pace slowed and the overstock of homes got smaller, reports Burton Frierson for Reuters. The drop in home prices fell by a record 9.5%, as well.
In better news, the number of homes for sale declined by 7%. But as many as 2 in 5 homes are by borrowers who have seen their property lose value or are facing foreclosure.
The next challenge on the home front is the tight lending standards. If lending gets so tight, sales will be hurt even further.
Focused ETFs:
- iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction (ITB), down 2.4% year-to-date
- SPDR Homebuilders (XHB), down 0.7% year-to-date
Tags: Homebuilders, ITB, Real Estate, SAW, XHB
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