Demand for Expensive Single Family Houses Takes Greatest Hit From Economic DownturnSales of single-family homes priced at $1-2M registered an annual drop of 22.1% at the national level, but annual decreases ranged across regions from -17.3% in the South to -31.5% in the Midwest. The segment of single family houses priced at $750K-1M took also a severe hit as sales on August 2009 were nationally 22.5% down from their August 2008 level. The worst performer in this segment was the West where sales posted an annual drop of 33.6%, while the best performer was the South, where sales posted an annual decline of 6.8%. Sales of single-family homes priced at $500K-$750K registered an annual drop of 14.7% at the national level. The worst performer in this segment was the Midwest where sales posted an annual drop of 32.2%, while the best performer was the West, where sales posted an annual decline of 10.9%. The segment of single-family homes priced at $250K-$500K registered the smallest decline as sales on August 2009 were nationally only 9.6% below their August 2008 level. The worst performer in this segment was the West where sales posted an annual drop of 16.6%, while the best performer was the Northeast, where sales were at the same level achieved in August 2008. Finally, sales of single family homes priced at $100K-$250K and at $100K or less posted annual increases of 4.9% and 20.9%, respectively, at the national level. It is worth noting that sales of single-family homes priced at $100K or less posted an annual increase of 152.3% in the West in August 2009, while sales in the Midwest posted the smallest gain of 3.8%. The Northeast was the best performer in the segment of single family homes priced at $100K-$250K, as sales posted an annual gain of 14.4% in contrast to the South, which registered the worst performance with sales dropping by a minor -0.2%.
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