Consumer Confidence Slips as Home Prices Drop

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM, New York Times
Published: April 29, 2008
Americans’ confidence in the economy continued to plunge this month as their homes lost value at the fastest rate in two decades, according to reports released on Tuesday.

The data suggested that the housing slump was far from a recovery and the job market might continue to weaken, ratcheting up pressure on the Federal Reserve, which began a two-day meeting on Tuesday, to take steps to stave off a prolonged slowdown.

The reports were consistent with a recession, economists said, though some optimists have insisted the economy is growing, albeit at a snail’s pace. President Bush remained in the latter camp at a news conference on Tuesday, where he said the economy was facing “a tough time.”

Homeowner vacancies hit record high

By Joanne Morrison Mon Apr 28, 12:58 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The share of vacant U.S. homes rose to a record level in the first quarter, the government reported on Monday, with homeowners finding it increasingly difficult to find buyers in a collapsed market and more homes in foreclosure.

The percentage of owner-occupied homes now sitting empty rose to 2.9 percent in the January-to-March period, the third quarter in a row in which the vacancy rate increased, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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...the total number of vacant U.S. properties hit 18.6 million, which was a record, a Census official said.

Analysts attributed the rising vacancy rate to a surge in foreclosures brought on by the subprime mortgage crisis. They predicted there will be few signs of improvement until the end of this year or early in 2009, when the glut in home inventories is expected to stabilize.