Morning Briefing: Housing stocks hit by global slump

Housing stocks hit by global slump… Housing market steady in Rhode Island… Tracy Morgan buys $13 million NJ mansion… California realtors report slower activity in July amid low supply…

Housing stocks hit by global slump
Stocks in some of America’s largest real estate companies were among the worst hit by Monday’s global sell-off. Streetinsider.com reports that the housing index on the New York Stock Exchange took its biggest one-day tumble since June 2013, down 5.1 per cent. KB Home, Lennar and PulteGroup fell in the homebuilding sector while Home Depot and Lowes also suffered losses.
 
Housing market steady in Rhode Island
Home sales in Rhode Island increased for the eighth consecutive month in July with strong increases in all sectors. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reports that year-over-year there was a 14 per cent increase in sales of single-family homes, condo sales were up 28 per cent and multi-family homes increased 35 per cent. The median sales price was up by 10 per cent to $239,000.
 
Tracy Morgan buys $13 million NJ mansion
Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan and his new wife Megan Wollover have a new home; a $13.9 million mansion in Alpine, New Jersey. The five-bedroom, nine bathroom home is a massive 21,000 square feet and will certainly give the newlyweds some leisure options with its bowling alley, racquetball court and pool.
 
California realtors report slower activity in July amid low supply
The monthly Market Pulse report from the California Association of Realtors shows a slow rate of activity in July from a month earlier. Although the pending sales index showed a 17 per cent rise in the month on an annual basis, the 8th straight month of gains; the number of floor calls, open house viewings and listings appointments was down for the third consecutive month. Lack of inventory was highlighted as the main concern of realtors, followed by rising interest rates and home prices.