WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes plunged by a record amount in 2007 while prices posted the weakest showing in 16 years, demonstrating the troubles builders are facing with a huge backlog of unsold homes.
The Commerce Department reported Monday that sales of new homes dropped by 26.4 percent last year to 774,000. That marked the worst sales year on record, surpassing the old mark of a 23.1 percent plunge in 1980
While the median home price for the entire year was up slightly, the median price of homes sold in December was $219,200. That was down 10.4 percent from a year ago, the biggest 12-month price drop in 37 years.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ECONOMY?SITE=NCASH&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT-------------
Hillary Calls For Quick Action To Stop The Foreclosure Of The American Dream
Just days before the State of the Union Address, Hillary Clinton urged the current administration to take immediate action to jumpstart the ailing economy. She outlined the solutions that can be taken now to fix the mortgage crisis and get more money in the pockets of Americans who need it the most. She also provided a vision of how she would lead the country to robust economic growth as President.
"Our economic problems are complex. But there is one thing we know for sure: the problem with our economy is not the American people. Instead, the problem is - in part - the bankrupt ideas of President Bush and the Republicans that rewarded the few and left so many people to fend for themselves in a time of great change," said Clinton. "I've been listening to the voices of the American people as I've traveled this country. The voices of people who work hard all day - then on the night shift - but it's still not enough. They're simply overwhelmed."
In her remarks, Clinton criticized the Bush administration for ignoring and neglecting the growing signs that the economy was in trouble. She noted that typical family incomes have dropped nearly $1,000 over the past seven years, while health care premiums nearly doubled and gas prices more than doubled. The economic anxiety of Americans has been compounded by the mortgage crisis and is one of the main drivers of the economic downturn that has had ripple effects across the world. Yet President Bush has presented a stimulus plan with tax breaks for corporations but next to nothing for families at risk of losing their homes.
"It's time for a President who believes that leading an economic comeback is a fulltime, hands-on job. Who renews our commitment to the middle class and brings business, labor and government together to restore America's competitiveness in a fast changing world," said Clinton. "We need a President who has a vision for a twenty-first century economy based on shared prosperity - where we measure our success not by the wealth at the very top - but by how broadly wealth is shared and where hard work is rewarded and the American Dream is within everyone's reach. We need an economy based on the foundation of investments that allow each of us to live up to our God-given potential."
Hillary Clinton is the only presidential candidate with a comprehensive plan to end the foreclosure crisis and ensure that it never recurs. Since last March-at a time when the Administration was assuring Americans that the housing problem was "contained"-she has warned about the economic consequences of rising foreclosures and she announced policies to address the problem before it became a crisis. On December 5, 2007, Hillary became the first presidential candidate to say that it was time to consider an economic stimulus plan and on January 11, 2008, she was the first leading Democratic candidate, to offer a fiscal stimulus package, which included $110 billion in measures to jumpstart our economy.
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http://www.hillaryclinton.com/blog/view/?id=28780
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