New Home Sales Surge To Five-Year High Despite Higher Rates

[Purveyor]

Source: REUTERS

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes vaulted to a five-year high in June, showing little signs of slowing in the face of higher mortgage rates.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales increased 8.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 497,000 units, the highest level since May 2008. Sales increased 1.3 percent in May.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected new home sales to rise to a 482,000-unit rate last month.

Compared with June last year, sales were up 38.1 percent, the largest increase since January 1992.

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100909633

[leveymg]

1. Pumping up that bubble again. QE money. Iceberg dead ahead.

[Purveyor]

2. Sure starting to feel like, indeed. eom

[Purveyor]

3. Also read: Americans Gambling on Rates With Most ARMs Since 2008

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023329192

[4Q2u2]

4. Corporate Buying

Blackstone alone owns now over 32,000 homes, Up from 22,000 last year. So Wall Street busted the housing bubble and reaped the financial bail out. Now with prices suppressed due to their actions they are scooping up large real estate holding at bargain prices. Be careful with that housing optimism, most of the gains are the big guys getting ready to stick it to the American people again.

[Purveyor]

5. Corps are picking up distressed foreclosed properties but I don't think they are much into the

'new home' purchases.

[4Q2u2]

6. True

But with them taking the bulk of those cheap houses off the market and reducing supply,( they are holding onto them as rentals), it will have an effect to steer home buyers to other alternatives. It will also give a false impression of recovery and accelerate speculators into construction because of increasing prices. Either way this one looks like it is going to hurt both in the short and long term. Using tax payer money to increase the price of houses that they bought cheap by destroying the market.

[cprise]

7. Here we go again... n/t