Freddie Mac - Home Price Growth Slows to Less Than Five Percent in Second Quarter

"Although the slow down in house-price appreciation has been quite sudden, going from an annualized 13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005 to less than half of that rate just six months later, there is still strength in the housing market. Single-family house sales through the first half of the year averaged 7.03 million units at an annual rate, on track to make 2006 the third best year for home sales. Similarly, one-family housing starts averaged an annualized rate of 1.64 million units through June, just a little under the record pace set in 2005. As the full impact of two years of rising short-term interest rates is felt in the economy, the slowdown in the housing market could become more abrupt over the next year.


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