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Hampel addresses home prices in MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (10/28/08)--Credit Union National Association Chief Economist Bill Hampel Friday addressed last week's unexpected increase in existing-home sales in an article published by the national MarketWatch (Oct. 24).
Existing-homes sales increased 5.5% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.18 million, the National Association of Realtors announced Friday.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected sales to rise to a five million pace from August's 4.91 million. The sales were spurred by a drop in home prices, but economists had warned that the housing bottom still a long way off.
"Prices don't have to fall much more," Hampel told MarketWatch. "Current prices seem to be sufficient to absorb" the number of homes coming onto the market due to default, he said.
Earlier Friday another CUNA economist, Mike Schenk, vice president of CUNA's economics and statistics, weighed in on the sales for Bloomberg Radio and CNN. Use the links to view those stories.
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