- Vanguard Financials (VFH): down 60.8% year-to-date; Citigroup 5.1%
On the home front, the nationwide sales of homes fell 3.1%, a number larger than anticipated. The economy and its weakness has made borrowers wary, despite prices falling to their lowest level in five years.
Sales of existing homes fell 3.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million units in October, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.14 million in September, reports Alan Zibel for Associated Press. Sales in the Western region of the nation remain up, as buyers in Las Vegas and Orange County are buying distressed properties at bargain prices.
Nationwide, estimates are that sales of distressed properties made up 45% of all property sales in October.
- iShares Dow Jones Cohen and Steers Realty Majors Index Fund (ICF): down 59.4% year-to-date
- SPDR DJ Wilshire REIT (RWR): down 57.7% year-to-date
