Existing Home Sales Miss, Order Cancellations Surge to Record High

07-20-2011 • ZeroHedge.com

Remember that surprisingly strong home starts data from yesterday which drove the market by 100 DJIA points higher yesterday? Neither do we. According to the NAR, June existing home sales once again declined, this time to 4.77MM from 4.81MM, the lowest since November, and well below the expected rise to 4.90MM. This number was 8.8% below June 2010's 5.23MM. Total inventory increased by 3.3% to 3.77 million units, or 9.5 months of supply at the current sales rate up from 9.1 in May. The biggest question mark is the surge in order cancellations which soared from 4% in May to an unprecedented 16% in June. That's one in five home transactions being cancelled in the middle of the deal. Here is Larry Yun's explanation for this shocking development: "The underlying reason for elevated cancellations is unclear." So let's get this straight whenever the number is better than expected it is always due to the economic recovery. When it is worse, it is "unclear." Thanks Larry. Now go back to fudging data please.