"How many existing homes (as opposed to new homes) were sold between 2007 and 2010? The job of counting such things is outsourced to the National Association of Realtors, which up until yesterday said that the number was 20,629,000. Today, however, it released revised figures, saying that the true figure is 17,680,000 — a difference of 3 million homes. At an average of say $250,000 apiece, that means the economy saw $750 billion less in economic activity, over those four years, than the NAR had given us to believe. That’s real money.
Here’s the NAR’s official chart of the old and new numbers:
In one sense, this shows that the housing slump was much worse than we were told. But in another sense, what we’re seeing here is fewer people selling their homes at a loss. And what that says to me is that it’s going to take a very long time yet before we get a healthy, clearing housing market..."
at http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/12/21/unreliable-housing-statistic-of-the-day/
Here’s the NAR’s official chart of the old and new numbers:
In one sense, this shows that the housing slump was much worse than we were told. But in another sense, what we’re seeing here is fewer people selling their homes at a loss. And what that says to me is that it’s going to take a very long time yet before we get a healthy, clearing housing market..."
at http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/12/21/unreliable-housing-statistic-of-the-day/
