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More dismal housing, economy data expected
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 | No comments posted.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A trio of reports due out today are expected to paint a bleak picture of the nation’s housing market and the broader economy, as the deepening recession sends more companies lining up for a piece of the government’s $700 billion bailout fund.
Wall Street expects the gross domestic product, the country’s total output of goods and services, fell at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the July-September quarter. That would match the estimate for GDP made a month ago, but economists believe that small drop will be followed by a much larger plunge in the current October-December quarter.
The National Association of Realtors is expected to report that sales of existing homes in the U.S. for November fell 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.9 million units, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
And new home sales data from the Commerce Department are expected to dip 3 percent to 420,000 units in November. October’s new home sales were the lowest in nearly 18 years.
Developers have slashed prices, but many buyers remain on the sidelines, waiting and watching for bigger discounts.
Wall Street expects the gross domestic product, the country’s total output of goods and services, fell at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the July-September quarter. That would match the estimate for GDP made a month ago, but economists believe that small drop will be followed by a much larger plunge in the current October-December quarter.
The National Association of Realtors is expected to report that sales of existing homes in the U.S. for November fell 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.9 million units, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
And new home sales data from the Commerce Department are expected to dip 3 percent to 420,000 units in November. October’s new home sales were the lowest in nearly 18 years.
Developers have slashed prices, but many buyers remain on the sidelines, waiting and watching for bigger discounts.
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