We have noticed that closings are taking longer which may contribute to the decline as mentioned below. Often the delays are not caused by the closing agent but by lenders who appear to agonize over the credit worthiness of the borrower and property. We had a situation in which a lender requested a second property inspection just prior to funding, delaying the close by a number of days as the inspection was scheduled, utilities turned on and report generated. This added delay time and cost to the buyer.
New-Home Sales DeclineAfter increasing for five consecutive months, new-home sales declined 3.6 percent in September compared with August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.Sales were down 7.8 percent compared to September 2008.Most of the decline was in the West and the South, where sales fell 11 percent and 10 percent respectively. These reduction were offset by transactions in the Midwest, where sales jumped 34 percent.Analysts were surprised by the decline, and some blamed it on the first-time home buyer tax credit, which sucked up customers eager to buy foreclosure bargains. Others said that the new normal for time between signing the sales contract and closing is two months or longer, a reality that could be reflected in these numbers.“We don’t know yet if it’s anything more than a blip,” says Steven Ricchiuto, an economist for Mizuho Securities USA.Source: Washington Post, Renae Merle (10/29/2009)
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