Ignore the spin folks. Existing home sales are down 31% from their peak in 2005 and nearly 16% from last year.

The pending home sales index unexpectedly rose in April by 6.3% to 88.2 from the previous month. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR, claims that this is due to an increase in bargain-hunting in areas where home prices have declined significantly.

In San Diego you’ll get a second home for free with the purchase of another (more expensive home).

Sales of previously owned homes declined 1% from the prior month to an annual pace of 4.89 million.

What goes up, must come down as the existing home sales for March fall.

Existing home sales down 1.1% in the West but up in the rest of the country.
According to the National Association of Realtors:

The real estate situation in Florida is still very bleak as the numbers from the Florida Association of Realtors release show that the housing market is in Florida despite some reports of strengthening sales in South are still very weak.

Dataquick came out with a new report on the California housing market for November 2007 and, as expected, the news are awful.

Sales of existing homes fell to a record low in October, as even the largest drop in home prices ever wasn't enough to revive sales, according to NAR.

Existing home sales were essentially unchanged in July, with increases in the West and Northeast offset by a decline in the Midwest, according to the National Association of Realtors®.