A new statistic out this morning by the US Census Bureau and HUD; US homes actively being marketed was at an 11 year high this past July. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the number of homes for sale was 568,000, a 22.4 per cent increase over the year and the biggest number since early 1995. However, interest rates on conventional home loans dipped a bit this morning indicating that this is probably a very good time to lock some fixed rate financing if you are planning on holding onto a particular piece of property for another 3+ years.

[tags]Housing, Inventory, Home Sales, Interest Rates, HUD[/tags]

Bloomberg.com is reporting today that US home sales dropped in July, over 11 percent from a year earlier according to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). This report comes on the heels of a statement made by Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow said a sharp decline in housing, which by some estimates accounted for more than half of growth over the last three years. According to Moskow a sharp decline in the national housing market would be a risk to the economy.

Of course this should come as no surprise to anyone with half of a functioning brain. The FOMC is walking a very fine line right now trying to balance a measured slow down in the national housing market and still keep inflationary pressures in check.

[tags]Fed, FOMC, Interest Rates, Housing, NAR, Real Estate, Inflation[/tags]