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| U.S. Home Market Volume Off After Terrorist Attacks |
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THU, OCT 11, 2001
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For the first month following the September 11 terrorist attacks, approximately 15 percent of America's home buyers and sellers vacated the marketplace, HomeGain, a U.S. online real estate agent reported yesterday.
HomeGain said the number of home buyers and sellers that filed profiles seeking real estate agents at its Web site dropped 15 percent during the period between September 11 and October 8.
Amid the attacks, coupled with news of heavy job cuts in the airline, travel and lodging industries, HomeGain said, it's very natural for consumers to hesitate on such a major financial decision like buying a home.
However, with mortgage interest rates nearing historical lows, a lot of those people are coming back into the market. The trends show that, in the fact, during the past few weeks, the number of home buyers and sellers filing profiles increased by 20 percent over the level before September 11.
HomeGain estimates that nearly 60,000 fewer homes will be sold in the United States during the mid-March to mid-April period next year. The financial impact caused by unrealized consumer spending, commissions and fees associated with those lost home sales could exceed one billion U.S. dollars. The value of those 60,000 unrealized home sales is estimated at about 9 billion dollars.
HomeGain's agent-finding service gives home sellers and buyers direct access to a nationwide network of more than 50,000 real estate agents.
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