Hey, let's talk about health care insurance, cap and trade, and other 
liberal agenda items.  Let's don't talk about a faltering economy, jobs, 
bank failures, massive deficit spending and more...  

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/December-home-sales-down-apf-
2729493334.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

December home sales down nearly 17 percent
Home sales plunge nearly 17 percent in December after tax credit 
deadline extended

   
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of previously occupied homes took the largest 
monthly drop in more than 40 years last month, plunging far deeper than 
expected after lawmakers gave buyers extended time to use a tax credit.

The National Association of Realtors says sales fell 16.7 percent to a 
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million in December, from an 
unchanged pace of 6.54 million in November. Sales had been expected to 
fall by about 10 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson 
Reuters.

Buyers were no longer scrambling to qualify for a tax credit of up to 
$8,000 for first-time homeowners. It had been due to expire on Nov. 30, 
but Congress extended the deadline until April 30.

The median sales price was $178,300, up 1.5 percent from a year earlier 
and the first yearly gain since August 2007.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. 
AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Last month's U.S. sales of previously occupied homes 
are expected to be down sharply from November after prospective buyers 
were granted more time to take advantage of a tax credit.

Buyers last month were no longer scrambling to qualify for a tax credit 
for first-time homeowners that was due to expire on Nov. 30. To give the 
market an added boost, lawmakers extended it until April 30. They also 
added a new credit of up to $6,500 for existing homeowners who move.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters forecast that sales completed in 
December fell 9.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.9 
million, from 6.54 million in November. The decline would reverse three 
straight months of increases.

The National Association of Realtors' report is scheduled for release 
Monday at 10 a.m. EST.

Earlier this month, the trade group said its index of sales contracts 
fell 16 percent from October to November, ending nine months of gains. 
Since it normally takes one to two months to complete a sale, that 
signals weak sales for December and January.

The big question hanging over the housing market this spring is whether 
the recovery will stumble after the government pulls back support. The 
Federal Reserve's $1.25 trillion program to push down mortgage rates is 
scheduled to expire at the end of March -- a month before the newly 
extended tax credit runs out.

Last year, first-time buyers were the main driver of the housing market, 
but their presence is on the decline, according to a survey of real 
estate agents released last week by research firm Campbell 
Communications.

They accounted for nearly 43 percent of purchases in December, the 
survey found, down from 47 percent in October.

"The majority of people who are going to use (the tax credit) have used 
it already," said Thomas Popik, who conducted the survey.

Many experts project home prices, which started to rise last summer, 
will fall again over the winter. That's because foreclosures make up a 
larger proportion of sales during the winter months, when fewer sellers 
choose to put their homes on the market.

Despite fears that home prices are starting to fall again, some analysts 
still believe the worst is over.

"We do not believe it is fair to consider this a double dip in the 
housing market," Michelle Meyer, an economist with Barclays Capital, 
wrote last week. "The recovery is still under way, but hitting some 
bumps in the road."

Prices fell 0.2 percent from October to November, according to a report 
released last Thursday by real estate data company First American 
CoreLogic. The company forecasts prices will hit bottom by spring and 
remain flat in most markets through the rest of the year.

"We see things wobbling around right now, and actually that's a good 
thing," said Mark Fleming, First American's chief economist. "It wasn't 
too long ago that all of the data was pointing to negative trends."

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