Housing Sales Drop

By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, Ap Real Estate Writer –

WASHINGTON – New U.S. home sales fell slightly last month, in another sign that the housing market's recovery is likely to be gradual and prolonged.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales dropped 0.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000, from a downwardly revised April rate of 344,000. Sales were down nearly 33 percent from May last year.

The results fell far short of economists' forecast of a 360,000 sales pace, according to Thomson Reuters. However, many analysts think new home sales hit bottom in January and will increase gradually as the economy gathers steam.

The median sales price of $221,600 was up 4.2 percent from April, but down 3.4 percent from a year ago.

Still, houses are still sitting on the market unsold for months. There were 292,000 new homes for sale at the end of May, down more than 2 percent from April. At this sluggish rate of sales, that's a 10-month
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"Vanilla" Change.

I am so glad that Obama plans to make sure that "Every credit card issuer has to issue a plain vanilla easy-to-understand, simplest possible credit card...that the average user can feel comfortable with." After all, the butterscotch crunch version was so hard to understand!

Sure, there needs to be reform. That's okay as long as I can charge whatever I want and have the tax payer pay for it, just like my mortgage (I wish!). I think I may just go out and buy some new furniture today so that I can be sure that everyone else in the country can pay for it.

Do I think that perhaps there may be some issues with loopholes in the credit card company policies within every credit card company in the US? Perhaps. However, have people been taking advantage of the system? Of course they have.

What do you bet that the new legislation will help those who have taken advantage of the system, over spending and then being irresponsible when paying their bills. Let me give it to you in the "vanilla" version. They buy and then don't pay. I know it's hard to understand for us "average" people.

There is an argument that the policies may reduce the amount of credit offered to lower-income individuals. Wouldn't that be just too bad? I mean, everyone should have the same stuff in the same amounts shouldn't they? Differences in the way people live are highly over-rated anyway. People should get paid the same no matter what job they get income from, right? Doctor-Fast Food Grill Cook. It's all the same, right? I hope the legislation comes down that we all have to drive the same battery powered cars, wear the same uniform colors, and that we must bow down to the Obama-God so that we don't have to think for ourselves and therefore don't have any consequences for our actions.

Amen.