December 2012 existing home sales drop unexpectedly, many Americans still have underwater mortgages-Reuters

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1/22/13, “Existing Home Sales Unexpectedly Slip in December,“ Reuters

“U.S. home resales unexpectedly fell in December as fewer people put their properties on the market, although not by enough to derail the boost housing will likely provide to the economy this year.

The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday that existing home sales dropped 1.0 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million units.

That was still the second highest rate of sales since November 2009, when a federal tax credit for home buyers was due to expire.

Sales were below the median forecast of a 5.1 million-unit rate in a Reuters poll….

The nation’s inventory of existing homes for sale fell 8.5 percent from November to 1.82 million, the lowest level since January 2001.

Many Americans are holding back from putting their homes on the market because they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Inventories were down 21.6 percent from December 2011.”…via Mark Levin show

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1/22/13, "Guest Post: The Real Housing Recovery Story," Zero Hedge guest post, Lance Roberts, Street Talk Live

"The headlines read that "Housing starts surged by 12.1% in December proving that the housing recovery is back." In reality the numbers were as follows:

• December starts:  61,500 (down 2.8% from November)
• Annualized December starts:  738,000
• Reported seasonally adjusted December starts:  954,000  (Up 12.1% from November)
• Seasonal adjustment to December starts:  +216,000

Historically, the data smoothing methodology was "close enough"  and the variations were, more or less, worked out over time.  

However, in the current economic environment, the seasonal adjustment process may be overstating that actual activity that is occurring within the underlying economy."...

 















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