Check out what we posted in October 2006. Nothing has changed other than lower interest rates in the US and more houses up for sale so grab them while you can. Only caveat? You need a job to pay the mortgage, and you need a mortgage

Hey Canada, looking to buy AND afford a nice house? well get out of Alberta and head down south of the border–well not quite. New home prices fell last month in the US by the largest amount in 35 years. The Commerce Department reported that the median price for a new home sold in September was $217,100, a decline of 9.7 percent from September 2005.

That was the lowest median home price in two years and the sharpest year-over-year decline since December 1970, providing dramatic evidence of the slowdown in the once-booming housing market.


The price decline for new homes in September came while the sales pace picked up, rising by 5.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 1.075 million homes. It was the second consecutive increase in sales following three months of declines. But even with the improvement, sales activity is down 14.2 percent from a year ago.

A recent AP-AOL real estate poll found that 46 percent of those surveyed believed the housing market in their area was still overpriced. The sharp slowdown in housing follows an extended boom in which the lowest mortgage rates in four decades powered sales of both new and existing homes to records for five consecutive years, helping support the overall economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has estimated that this year’s housing decline probably will cut growth by a percentage point in the second half of this year. The Fed raised interest rates for 17 consecutive times through June in hopes of slowing economic growth enough to restrain rising inflation pressures.

Many private economists believe the economy grew at a sluggish rate of around 2 percent in from July through September, the second straight quarter of slower growth. The government was releasing the actual figure on Friday.

The rise in new home sales last month reflected a 23.9 percent jump in the West and a 6.9 percent gain in the South. Sales plunged 34.5 percent in the Northeast and were down 6.3 percent in the Midwest.