Survey of Real Estate Agents pointed to a fourth straight decline in buyer

traffic in June. There were clearly two distinct segments of the market,

however. We saw investors remain active – and even become more

aggressive in many markets where prices appear sufficiently low and where

inventory is scarce. On the other hand, we saw the traditional owneroccupant

buyers step back, as they have become even more concerned

about the economy, and are hesitant to make a purchase given their

concerns about employment.

consistent worries among buyers about a) job security, b) expectation of

declining home prices, c) difficult financing, and d) high gas prices, which

provide buyers with the excuse to stay home. We think the lack of

confidence in employment is a key issue, especially when coupled with the

worry that a home bought today might sell for less in three-six months. Our

traffic index fell by 3.0 points to 28.8 in June from 31.8 in April.

Our home price index inched up to 29.1 in June, from 27.4 in May, but

remains well below 50, the level that would indicate stable home prices.

Responses from agents indicated a significant difference in the market with

firm pricing on distress homes, but much less stability to traditional nondistress

sales. Fortunately, our “time to sell index”, improved slightly to 34.5

in June from 31.6 in May, although the improvement was generally seen in

those markets with a high concentration of investors.

investors (Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix again had healthy traffic), but

Texas markets (Austin, Dallas, and Houston) saw weak activity, as did

markets such as Charlotte, Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC.