This Market in Numbers

Some interesting numbers from the National Association of Realtors.

Number of Existing Home Sales in the United States:

1998 – 4.2 million
2000 – 4.6 million
2004 – 4.7 million
2005 – 7.1 million (with a 38% appreciation rate in 2005)
2006 – 6.48 millioin
2007 – 5.66 million
2008 (projection) 5.7 million

The media makes things look really bad, but 2005 was just really “good” as far as pricing went for sellers. But, in regards to homes sold, we’re still better than 1998.

Home Equity Borrowed:

2000 – 26 billion
2004 – 139 billion
2005 – 450 billion
2007 – 620 billion (stats from the Mortgage Bankers Association)

This is the scary part. Real estate is still moving, but now many sellers are upside down.