NAHB index slumps in August to 17-month low

The National Association of Home Builders just released its latest numbers on the housing market. The overall index slumped to 13 from 14, compared with expectations for a slight increase. That's the worst level going all the way back to March 2009.

The subindex that measures current sales slipped to 14 from 15, while the index that measures expectations about the future tanked to 18 from 21. The subindex tracking buyer traffic was unchanged at 10. Regionally speaking, the index declined to 18 from 24 in the Northeast, to 13 from 14 in the South, and to 8 from 9 in the West. The Midwest index held steady at 15.

What's going on? According to Mike Larson, real estate and interest rate analyst at Weiss Research:

Well, we have incredibly cheap mortgage rates and cheap home prices. But buyers just aren't stepping up to the plate. This fits with the "no jobs = no home sales" thesis I laid out a few months ago. Unless and until the job market improves, we are simply not going to get any traction in the housing market. And so far, job growth is missing in action.

It would appear that any previous gains were simply due to the homebuyers tax credit and the market looks to be falling for the foreseeable future. When will the real property investment bargains surface? Hard to say - some markets may never recover in my lifetime - Las Vegas for example.