"Existing Home Sales Rise 5.1 Percent in February"

[Clio the Leo]

Seems like we're getting more good news than bad lately.

Existing Home Sales Rise 5.1 Percent in February
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 23, 2009; 11:06 AM

Existing home sales rose unexpectedly in February as first-time home buyers snapped up cheap homes, according to data released today by the National Association of Realtors.

Home sales increased 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.72 million in February. Analysts had expected the sales rate to continue to fall.

Sales are still down nearly 5 percent from the same period a year ago and hover at depressed levels, according to the industry association. But low prices and the implementation of an $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit appears to have coaxed more buyers into the market, the group said.

"The combination of falling prices and lower mortgage rates make home ownership more affordable, though job insecurity may blunt this," Marc Chandler, an analyst with Brown Brothers Harriman, said in a research note.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032300705.html?hpid=topnews

This is the largest jump since 2003

[Thrill]

1. I saw that on CNBC. Funny seeing them hate to give Obama's policies

any credit for it

[AndyA]

2. If Americans had more confidence that they wouldn't lose their jobs,

the economy would likely turn around pretty fast, as they would be more apt to spend money. It's all about consumer confidence right now, and how Americans perceive their future well being. If we can get past the fear factor, things could turn around pretty fast.

And Obama's recovery plan shows that there is hope for the future, which is obviously giving some Americans a bit more confidence. I'm not an economist, but that's my take on this aspect of the economy, FWIW.

[AllentownJake]

4. Banging head against wall

You do realize that the fundamentals that are underlying our entire economy are very deeply flawed further than just this banking crisis right?

[AndyA]

9. Yes, I do realize that.

There's a lot to it, but the bottom line is: no recovery until the American people start feeling better about their future. Period.

Fixing the banks isn't going to address the issue.

Certainly there is a lot more to it than that, but even when all else is said and done, if people don't feel good about what lies ahead, no recovery.

[AllentownJake]

10. I may sound callous

but a quick recovery means no reform.

[Phx_Dem]

15. That's not true at all. I've read some bloggers

posting that same thing, and I think it's utterly ridiculous. The premise that if things suddenly turn around, we'll all forget there was ever a problem and there will be no stomach for regulation reform.

That is too absurd for words. The collective American public may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but they aren't braindead.

[AllentownJake]

18. Really because after the recession and quick recover in 1993 and 2001

Would you say things got better from a regulatory perspective or worse?

Don't ever overestimate the attention span of the mob.

[AndyA]

19. Possibly, but with Obama in office I still hold out hope that he will force

changes. I think the American people will demand changes be made.

A great sleeping giant has finally been shaken from its slumber; people no longer trust that corporations are going to do the right thing. Or politicians, lawyers, or anyone else for that matter. And it took walking to the very brink of economic extinction to make that happen. I think people will demand changes be made and implemented to prevent such things from happening again.

I'm not as in love with Obama as I once was, but I'm still holding out that the things he's done that I question have been done for reasons not known to me, but will make sense down the road. I'm willing to give the guy time. It took a while to get to this point, I don't expect him to turn it around immediately, but I do think he will turn it around and implement checks and balances to fix the system.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. Lord Keynes Said "In The Long Run We Will All Be Dead."

~

[AllentownJake]

13. Yes and if we keep up what we are doing

It will be sooner rather than later.

[asphalt.jungle]

3. unexpectedly huh

there is an 8k first-time home buyers tax credit in the stimulus plan and you can file to get it immediately. when they accuse administration officials like christina romer of being insanely optimistic, maybe she is closer to realistic than those in MSM land who are overly pessimistic. i'm sure when they were running the various stimulus models they saw the 8k tax rebate bringing more first time home buyers to the table.

[AllentownJake]

5. Mediocre news

"Sales are still down nearly 5 percent from the same period a year ago and hover at depressed levels, according to the industry association." Key thing to read in that article.

[asphalt.jungle]

6. no the key thing is

"Analysts had expected the sales rate to continue to fall."

of course these new sales figures aren't ideal, but it's a huge step up from where we were headed.

[thevoiceofreason]

7. Don't mess with Jake.

If you aren't with the doom and gloom squad, you are nothing but an annoyance in his eyes.

[AllentownJake]

8. 80% of the worlds savings, net creditor nation, and net importer

Please tell me how this is sustainable?

The last thing I want to see is people think its ok to back to normal.

[thevoiceofreason]

12. When you begin to implement to long-term plans in the budget

When you return good paying, blue collar jobs to America building the infrastructure.

When you fix healthcare and get the monkey of health insurance off the backs of businesses (or at least make the monkey lose weight).

When you focus and incentivize manufacturing the parts required for green energy initiatives here, as opposed to importing them.

When you work to restructure basic corporate law to give unions and workers a bigger seat at the table of company-wide decisions, including board and executive pay.

That's how you start.

You create a new normal.

[AllentownJake]

14. We need to smash the financial institutions that are tying up capital

in high stakes gambling.

We can budget all we want to, but as long as we have those giant banks we will never get any change.

[thevoiceofreason]

16. Get rid of the laws that let them bet like casinos.

Thanks for that, Phil Gramm.

[AllentownJake]

17. It passed 90-8 in the Senate

Lets just say Phill Gramm wasn't the only one to blame here.

[thevoiceofreason]

20. Oh, I know.

It was encouraged by the WH in 1999.

Hopefully, folks are a few years older and wiser.

[Fire1]

21. I guess so! They're selling at rock bottom prices or auctioned

off for what you can put on a credit card!