Fast Facts

• 50 out of 149 metropolitan areas had annual price declines.
• The national median home price fell from $227,100 in the second quarter of 2006 to $223,800 in the second quarter of 2007.
• Total existing home sales are down 10.8 percent compared to the same time last year.

Source: National Association of Realtors

Falling Sales, Falling Prices

The housing slump continues to affect home sales and median home prices according to second quarter survey results released last week by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Total existing home sales, which include single-family and condo sales, were down in nearly every state in the union. Only six states - Wyoming, Iowa, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Nebraska - had gains in the second quarter of 2007 compared to the same time last year.

Median home prices were also down, falling 2.2 percent in the Midwest, 1.6 percent in the South, and 0.4 percent in the West. Nationally, the median home price for existing homes declined 1.5 percent in a year over year comparison.

The NAR took their usual view (behind rose-colored glasses) and claimed optimistically in a press release that trends indicate a stable market is right around the corner.

'Although home prices are relatively flat, more metro areas are showing price gains with general improvement since bottoming-out in the fourth quarter of 2006,' said Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist. 'Recent mortgage disruptions will hold back sales temporarily, but the fundamental momentum clearly suggests stabilizing price trends in many local markets.'

Of course, this isn't the first (second, third, fourth or even the fifth) time the NAR has claimed we are near the bottom when it comes to housing. The organization is notoriously optimistic - a view that has garnered criticism from avid bloggers and even some of the mainstream media.

HousingWire.com, a blog that normally focuses on the mortgage banking industry, recently commented on NAR's Q2 existing home report and blasted the organization for making irresponsible claims about market stabilization.

'Housing is still in some serious trouble. Prices aren't leading indicators of where a market is headed; so it's sort of silly, really, to see a senior economist at the NAR expounding on how some perceived 'movement' in prices might signal better days ahead,' writes HW in a post.

Metro Median Price Changes (Q2 2006 vs. Q2 2007)

Largest Single Family Home Price Increase

Largest Single Family Home Price Decrease