As consumers fret about the slowing economy and concentrate on sending their kids back to school,, residential housing sales took another turn for the worse.  September’s Housing Data took another dive relative to a slow August and were significantly down from the year prior.  After Augusts’ stable sales figures, it is difficult to see a further drop in September.  Where will it end?  Are we heading backwards as news of foreclosures and a stagnating economy scare away even the boldest of buyers?

The Number of Closed Sales in September Were Below the Depressed August Numbers, and Down Significantly from September 2009

The number of Single Family Home Sales that closed in September across our top Forty Markets was down 7% versus August! Continuing the weakening trend seen last month, unit sales were down almost 20% when compared to September 2009. Only Six of our Top Forty City Markets actually had unit sales increases September vs. August, and none of those upticks was greater than 10%. San Antonio, Dallas, Miami and Cleavland lead the continuing downward trend in unit sales with 15-20% decreases in unit sales.

Prices Are Declining, But is it Enough?

At the same time, the Median Prices for Sold properties declined again in September (vs. August) notching down another 2%.   Prices for Sold properties were just below September 2009 levels (a decline of 0.3%).   Of course, not every city showed declines in pricing.  Orlando and Honolulu both had 5%+ price increase.  But prices did decline in the majority of the Top Forty City Markets and some of the biggest declines were seen in:   Boston (-8.8%), Cleavland (-7.6%), Des Moines (-5.2%), New York (-8.0%), San Antonio (-7.2%) and Washington DC (-6.2%).  Clearly prices will need to come down further to stimulate additional demand.