Signs of A Stabilizing Market

(From an Article By John W. Schoen, Senior producer of MSNBC; Aug. 26, 2008)

Though home prices continued to fall in July, there are growing signs that the market may be stabilizing as lower prices lure some buyers off the sidelines. But a broad housing recovery faces stiff headwinds in the form of rising unemployment, tighter credit for borrowers and a huge inventory of unsold homes. The widely watched Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller national home price index fell by a record 15.4 percent during the second quarter compared to the same period a year ago. Still, the report offered a glimmer of hope that the slide in home prices may be easing: The rate of price drops slowed from May to June, and regional price data showed that nine of the 20 cities tracked by the index posted slight month-to-month gains.