By Kasra Kangarloo

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Upcoming data from the Commerce Department and
the National Association of Realtors will probably show a mixed
performance for housing sales in October.

According to a survey of economists by Market News International,
existing home sales are expected to fall to an annual sales pace of 4.48
million, and new home sales are expected to rise to a pace of 314,000
sales.

“There are many factors which don’t make the numbers clear, they
could be volatile for some time,” Jill Brown, economist at Credit
Suisse, said in a telephone interview.

The housing market has been on unsteady footing since the
expiration of the homebuyers’ tax credit at the end of April. The market
has made a modest recovery since the initial drop-off following the
expiration, though sales have still been generally weak.

Most of this recovery has been seen in the existing homes figure,
which rose to an unexpected 4.53 million in September. Yun also said in
the September release that the real estate market is “moving in the
right direction,” and added that an annual sales pace of 5 million would
be indicative of a healthy market — though he now expected 4.8 million
to 4.9 million for this year as a whole.

New home sales, by contrast, have floated above and below an annual
pace of 300,000 sales. If expectations are met, however, this would mark
the third consecutive monthly increase in the figure.

Sales initially plunged 27% in the existing homes figure and 32%
the in new homes figure after the expiration of the tax credit. The
impact was delayed by several months in the existing homes figure
because sales are counted only after the completion of a contract, where
as new homes are counted when contracts are signed.

The October existing home sales report will be released Tuesday,
November 23 by the National Association of Realtors at 10:00 am; the
October new home sales report will be released Wednesday, November 24 by
the Commerce Department.

— Kasra Kangarloo is a Need to Know News Reporter in Washington

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$]