Today’s New Residential Construction Report continues to firmly demonstrate the intensity of the total washout conditions that now exist in the nation’s housing markets and particularly for new residential construction showing tremendous declines on both a peak and year-over-year basis to single family permits both nationally and across every region.

Single family housing permits, the most leading of indicators, again suggests extensive weakness in future construction activity dropping 46.42% nationally as compared to March 2007.

Moreover, every region showed significant double digit declines to permits with the West declining 56.8%, the Midwest declining 47.7%, the South declining 42.0%, and the Northeast declining 39.4%.

Today’s New Residential Construction Report continues to firmly demonstrate the intensity of the total washout conditions that now exist in the nation’s housing markets and for new residential construction showing tremendous declines on a year-over-year basis to single family permits both nationally and across every region.

Today’s New Residential Construction Report continues to firmly indicate the intensity of the second leg down in the decline to the nation’s housing markets and for new residential construction showing substantial declines on a year-over-year and month-to-month basis to single family permits both nationally and across every region.

Today’s New Residential Construction Report continues to firmly indicate a new leg down in the decline to the nation’s housing markets and for new residential construction showing substantial declines on a year-over-year and month-to-month basis to single family permits both nationally and across every region.

Today, the U.S. Census Department released its monthly New Residential Home Sales Report for January showing continued deterioration of the already hideous falloff in demand for new residential homes both nationally and in every region resulting in an astounding median sales price drop of 15.09%.

On a year-over-year basis new home sales are continuing to weaken, dropping a truly ugly 33.9% below the sales activity seen in January 2007 and plunging a whopping 56.67% since the peak set in July 2005.

It’s important to keep in mind that these declines are coming on the back of the significant declines seen in 2006 and 2007 further indicating the significance of the housing bust.

Today, the U.S. Census Department released its monthly New Residential Home Sales Report for December showing accelerating deterioration of the already hideous falloff in demand for new residential homes both nationally and in every region resulting in an astounding median sales price drop of 10.42%.

Additionally, 2007 marked the single worst declines in new home sales ever recorded in the 45 years the data has been tracked.

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Pending Home Sales Report for January 2008 showing accelerating weakness to existing home sales activity and a clear continuation of the historic decline to residential housing on a year-over-year basis, both nationally and in every region.

As the decline in demand for residential housing enters its third year, it’s important to consider the significance of both the extent of the decline and the severity of the oncoming declines to existing home sales activity clearly indicated by the current 20% year-over-year drop-off in pending home sales.

Today, the U.S. Census Department released its monthly New Residential Home Sales Report for November showing a further deterioration of the already hideous falloff in demand for new residential homes both nationally and in every region as well as again reporting significant downward revisions to August, September and October’s results.

Today, the U.S. Census Department released its monthly New Residential Home Sales Report for April showing continued deterioration in demand for new residential homes across every tracked region resulting in a startling 42.0% year-over-year decline and a truly whopping 62.13% peak sales decline nationally.

It’s important to keep in mind that these dramatic declines are coming on the back of the significant declines seen in 2006 and 2007 further indicating the enormity of the housing bust and clearly dispelling any notion of a bottom being reached.

Today, the U.S. Census Department released its monthly New Residential Home Sales Report for October that continued to confirm the hideous falloff in demand for new residential homes both nationally and in every region as well as again reporting significant downward revisions to July, August and September’s results.

Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released their January read of construction spending again demonstrating the significant extent to which private residential construction is contracting particularly for single family structures.

With the tremendous weakening trend continuing, total residential construction spending fell 19.69% as compared to January 2007 and 34.52% from the peak set in February 2006.

Worse off though was private single family residential construction spending which declined 32.13% as compared to January 2007 and a truly grotesque 49.75% from the peak also set in February 2006.

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Pending Home Sales Report for February showing a weakening to existing home sales activity and a clear continuation of the historic decline to residential housing on a year-over-year basis, both nationally and across every region.

As the decline in demand for residential housing slumps through its third year, it’s important to consider the significance of both the extent of the decline and the severity of the oncoming declines to existing home sales activity clearly indicated by the current 21.4% year-over-year drop-off in pending home sales.

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) finally released their Pending Home Sales Report for September 2007 showing yet again a truly stark and horrendous continuation of the historic decline to residential housing on a year-over-year basis, both nationally and in every region.

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Pending Home Sales Report for October 2007 showing yet again a truly stark continuation of the historic decline to residential housing on a year-over-year basis, both nationally and in every region.

Today, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for January 2008 and simultaneously Standard & Poor’s released their Case-Shiller Home Price Index for December 2007 both showing, perfectly clearly, the truly dire circumstances that have now befallen the Bay State’s housing market.

Sources inside the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) report that tomorrows monthly existing home sales results will show that January single family home sales crashed 27.7% on a year-over-year basis while condo sales collapsed 33.7% over the same period.

Further, the single family median selling price declined 5.6% on a year-over-year basis to $321,000 while condo median prices increased 3.5% to $277,500.

The following charts (click for larger) show the decline in single family home sales since 2005.

Notice that January 2008 is registering a home sales count well below even the 2007 level as well as indicating that the February’s results will be well below 2000 units, a significant decline.

Today, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for April again showing the truly dismal and deteriorating circumstances that have befallen the Bay State’s housing market.

Whether it was a slow depression brought on by a local economy that has been eroding for over eight years, well over two years of steadily declining home sales and prices, the credit crunch, a looming recession, a palpable increase in inflation of necessities like food and fuel or just simply a change in attitudes toward the notion of a house as a vehicle for untold wealth, the regions housing market has now crossed a dangerous tipping point.

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Pending Home Sales Report for December 2007 showing accelerating weakness to existing home sales activity and a clear continuation of the historic decline to residential housing on a year-over-year basis, both nationally and across every region.

Continuing down the second slope of the pullback in demand for residential housing, ALL regions are now tracking at or below the lowest values ever recorded with the Northeast now registering over 30% fewer sales than in 2001, the first year Pending Home Sales were tracked.

As usual, NAR Senior Economist Laurence Yun makes another attempt at self interested spin and false optimism suggesting that home sales have been moving in a “narrow range” and promoting the idea that higher conforming loan limits will thwart the decline.

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Pending Home Sales Report for November 2007 showing a truly stark and even worsening continuation of the historic decline to residential housing on a year-over-year basis, both nationally and in every region.

Looking back at September’s results (released throughout October) it’s now unequivocally obvious that the nation’s housing markets, having fully transcended the mania that existed primarily in the first half of the decade and now, in its aftermath, after being dramatically and irreparably impaired by the unwinding of the resultant mortgage-credit debacle, are now hurtling headlong into a dramatic new leg down.

Today, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for October 2007 showing again the utter foolishness of MAR president Doug Azarian’s purported two month long winning streak of increasing home sales earlier this fall.

Today, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for October again confirming, perfectly clearly, that demand for residential real estate, for both single family and condos, has now taken a new and substantial leg down uniformly across the nation’s housing markets likely as a direct result of the momentous and ongoing structural changes in the credit-mortgage markets.

Yesterday, the U.S. Census Bureau released their November read of construction spending again demonstrated the significant extent to which private residential construction is contracting particularly for single family structures.

With the tremendous weakening trend continuing, total residential construction spending fell 17.81% as compared to November 2006 and 30.33% from the peak set in February 2006.

Today’s release of the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices for September continues to reflect significant weakness for the nation’s housing markets with 13 of the 20 metro areas tracked reporting year-over-year declines and now ALL metro areas showing declines from their respective peaks.

Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released their December read of construction spending again demonstrated the significant extent to which private residential construction is contracting particularly for single family structures.

With the tremendous weakening trend continuing, total residential construction spending fell 20.44% as compared to December 2006 and 33.62% from the peak set in February 2006.

Worse off though was private single family residential construction spending which declined 30.80% as compared to December 2006 and a truly grotesque 47.09% from the peak also set in February 2006.

Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released their April read of construction spending again demonstrating the significant extent to which private residential construction is contracting particularly for single family structures while non-residential spending continued to grow essentially in-line with its recent expansion.

With the tremendous weakening trend continuing, total residential construction spending fell 21.01% as compared to April 2007 and 37.39% from the peak set in February 2006.

Worse off though was private single family residential construction spending which declined 37.51% as compared to April 2007 and a truly grotesque 56.07% from the peak set in February 2006.

Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released their February read of construction spending again demonstrating the significant extent to which private residential construction is contracting particularly for single family structures and giving a clear indication that a non-residential downturn is now well underway.

With the tremendous weakening trend continuing, total residential construction spending fell 18.83% as compared to February 2007 and 34.35% from the peak set in February 2006.

Worse off though was private single family residential construction spending which declined 33.56% as compared to February 2007 and a truly grotesque 52.41% from the peak set in February 2006.

This week, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) released their Existing Home Sales Report for December 2007 showing again the utter foolishness of former MAR president Doug Azarian’s yearlong optimistic sentiment.