U.S. Home Sales at Lowest Level in More Than a Decade

From today's New York Times, the news isn't that good -- when it comes to home sale numbers.

Housing sales in July plunged to their lowest level in more than a decade, exceeding even the grimmest forecasts.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 3.83 million was 25.5 percent below the level of July a year ago.

The financial markets took the news badly, with the Dow Jones Industrials down about 100 points in early afternoon trading.

July was the first month that buyers could not qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000, so analysts were expecting weak results. But their consensus called for a decline of about 13 percent.

Jennifer H. Lee, senior economist for BMO Capital Markets, called the numbers “truly gut-wrenching.”