NAR Revises the Great Housing Decline

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a major benchmark revision to their existing home sales data resulting in notable downward revisions to all monthly results from 2007 and beyond.

While the Realtors were quick to point out that the “month to month characterizations of market conditions did not change”, the data certainly did with the trends post-bust now looking much more severe and a fair amount more consistent with what was reported for the new home market.

Of course the NAR suggests that there are a number of factors that contributed to the previously inflated results including growth in MLS coverage, FSBO related distortions and geographic population shifts.

Looking at the chart above (click for full-screen version) that compares the data pre and post-benchmark revisions, you can see that what the NAR is purporting to be the trend now looks substantially weaker and shows that the housing decline was notably more severe than previously reported with seasonally adjusted annualize home sales falling from a peak level of 7.25 million units in 2005 to just over 3.45 million in 2010, a level first seen in the early 1990s.

Existing Home Sales Report: November 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for November showing an increase in sales with total home sales climbing 4% since October and 12.2% above the level seen in November 2010.

Single family home sales increased 4.5% from October and rose 12.9% above the level seen in November 2010 while the median selling price declined 4.0% below the level seen in November 2010.

Inventory of single family homes declined 3.8% from October dropping 16.1% below the level seen in November 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in an still elevated monthly supply of 7.0 months.

The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.

Existing Home Sales Report: October 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for October showing an increase in sales with total home sales climbing 1.4% since September and 13.5% above the level seen in October 2010.

Single family home sales increased 1.6% from September and rose 13.8% above the level seen in October 2010 while the median selling price declined 5.8% below the level seen in October 2010.

Inventory of single family homes declined 0.5% from September dropping 12.2% below the level seen in October 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in an still elevated monthly supply of 7.8 months.

The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.

Existing Home Sales Report: September 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for September showing a notable decline in sales with total home sales falling 3% since August but remaining 11.3% above the level seen in September 2010.

Single family home sales dropped a notable 3.6% from August but rose 12.2% above the level seen in September 2010 while the median selling price declined 3.9% below the level seen in September 2010.

Inventory of single family homes declined 3.2% from August dropping 11.2% below the level seen in September 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in an still elevated monthly supply of 8.22 months.

The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.

Existing Home Sales Report: August 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for August showing a notable rise in sales with total home sales jumping 7.7% since July and 18.6% above the level seen in August 2010.

Single family home sales climbed a notable 8.5% from July and rose 20.2% above the level seen in August 2010 while the median selling price declined 5.4% below the level seen in August 2010.

Inventory of single family homes went flat from July dropping 11.8% below the level seen in August 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in an still elevated monthly supply of 8.3 months.

The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.

Existing Home Sales Report: July 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for July showing continued weakness with slumping sales and an elevated monthly supply.



Single family home sales declined a notable 4.0% from June but rose notably compared to the level seen last year's post-tax scam weakness while the median selling price declined 4.5% below the level seen in July 2010.



Further, inventory of single family homes declined 5.4% from June and 8.6% below the level seen in July 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in an still elevated monthly supply of 8.9 months.



The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.

Existing Home Sales Report: June 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for June showing continued weakness with slumping sales and an increasing monthly supply.

Single family home sales went unchanged from May falling 7.4% below the level seen last year while the median selling price increased a slight 0.6% above the level seen in June 2010.

Further, inventory of single family homes remains high climbing 5.9% from May and 0.1% above the level seen in June 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in an increase in the monthly supply to 9.4 months.

The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.

Existing Home Sales Report: May 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for May showing continued weakness and sharp declines with slumping sales and prices and an increasing monthly supply.

Single family home sales declined a whopping 3.2% from April falling 15.4% below the level seen last year while the median selling price declined a notable 4.5% below the level seen in May 2010.

Further, inventory of single family homes remains high declining just 1.1% from April and 2.1% below the level seen in May 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in a increase in the monthly supply to 9.0 months.

The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.

Existing Home Sales Report: April 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for April showing a trifecta of housing malaise, notable declines to both sales and prices as well as climbing inventory.

Single family home sales declined 0.5% from March falling 12.6% below the level seen last year while the median selling price declined a notable 5.4% below the level seen in April 2010.

Further, inventory of single family homes remains high climbing 11.4% from March but declining 2.6% below the level seen in April 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in a jump in the monthly supply to 9.0 months.

The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.

Existing Home Sales Report: March 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for March showing a slight increase in sales while prices continue to be weak and inventory continues to remain elevated.

Single family home sales increased 3.97% since February but fell 6.51% below the level seen last year while prices declined a notable 5.31% below the level seen in March 2010.

Further, inventory of single family homes remains high climbing 0.7% from February but declining 1.3% below the level seen in March 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in a monthly supply of 8.1.

The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.

Existing Home Sales Report: February 2011

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for February showing a notable triple blow to the nation's housing market with declining sales, falling prices and increasing inventory clearly indicating that housing remains historically weak and adds further evidence that a double-dip has materialized in the wake of the governments housing tax scams.

Single family home sales declined 9.6% since January and fell 2.7% below the level seen last year while prices declined a notable 4.2% below the level seen in February 2010.

Further, inventory of single family homes remains high climbing 1.7% above the level seen in February 2010 which, combined with the relatively slow pace of sales, resulted in a monthly supply of 8.4.

The following charts (click for full-screen dynamic version) shows national existing single family home sales, median home prices, inventory and months of supply since 2005.