Never in the nearly 50 years since the United States began keeping records on sales of new homes were sales as slow as they’ve been recently.
New-home sales dropped almost 17 percent in February. Sales would almost have to triple to reach the level that economists consider “healthy,” The Associated Press reported.
Sales of existing homes offer no comfort, either. Nationwide, sales of existing homes were down nearly 10 percent from January to February.
And that’s not the worst of it: About 40 percent of the existing homes that were sold in February were either foreclosures or involved sellers accepting less from buyers than what was still owed on the homes. In addition, the median price of existing homes that were sold hit its lowest level since early 2002.
The Chattanooga area, with its bright prospects from a number of major, ongoing economic developments, fared better. While the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors cannot readily separate out sales of new versus existing homes, it says this part of Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia saw a 15 percent increase in overall home sales from January to February.