'Two-Year High' Home Sales: Among the Worst on Record

CNN Money reports this morning that "...in another sign of a housing market recovery, new-home sales rose in September to the highest level in more than two years... Sales sold at an annual rate of 389,000 homes in the month, according to the Census Bureau report, up 5.7% from the 368,000 sales pace in August. The last time sales were at this pace, was in April 2010."

Sounds as if all is well and good. Right?

In September, October, and November 2008, with the Democrats running around shouting about an economy in collapse and Obama winning the election because of it, new-home sales came in at an annual rate of 433K, 393K, and 389K respectively. (The "annual rate" is monthly sales averaged over a twelve-month period. An annual sales rate of 389,000 means 32,416 sales per month -- down from 75K before the bubble deflated.) The peak of new-home sales was in 2005, but even after three years of decline we were better off four years ago than we are now -- three years into the Obama "Recovery."

In only four years since 1963 have annual new-home sales come in below 400,000 units. Barack Obama was president in each one of those years: 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The worst year for new-home sales under George W. Bush was 2008 at 489,000 units. Obama's best year seems to be 2009: 375,000. (The September 2012 pace of 389,000 is the highest of all of 2012. But when adding up the year until now, it's doubtful that new-home sales will hit the 2009 levels.)

But of course, the home sales numbers are a sign of a "housing recovery." Right, Bias Hacks at CNN?

Yossi Gestetner Blogs at www.GestetnerUpdates.Com

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