Realtors’ Association Predicts Existing Home Sales Will Fall Again

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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicted on Monday, December 11, that sales of existing homes and condos would continue to fall in 2007.

Existing home sales will likely decline as much as 17.7 percent this year, and an additional 9.4 percent next year, according to the NAR.

However, the Association’s chief economist, David Lereah, is also forecasting a late-year recovery in 2007 home sales. He says that roughly 75% of the country will see a slow expansion of existing home sales by the end of next year, when compared with the fourth quarter of 2006.

Lereah added that “general gains in [home] value next year will be modest by historic standards.”

From July to September of this year, the rate of home price appreciation stood at 3.5 percent–a dramatic drop from the 12 percent rate the nation saw in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Lereah also predicted that 30-year mortgage rates would be up to 6.7 percent by September of 2007. Those rates were at 6.11 percent last week, according to mortgage finance company Freddie Mac.

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