We just got our latest look at existing home sales from the National Association of Realtors. Sales rose 1.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million in October from 4.9 million a month earlier. That topped expectations for a reading of 4.8 million. We saw strength in most of the country, with sales up 2.1% in the South, 2.8% in the Midwest, and 4.4% in the West. Sales fell 5.1% in the Northeast.

Single family transactions led the way with a gain of 1.6%, while condo and coop sales were flat on the month. The supply of homes for sale dipped to 3.33 million from 3.406 million in September. That was equal to 8 months of supply at the current sales pace, down from 8.3 a month earlier. Meanwhile, the median price of a used home fell to $162,500 from $165,800 in September. That was also down 4.7% from a year earlier.

The housing market is showing a slight improvement in tone these days, with builder optimism and now, used home sales perking up. Strength was broad based in October, led by the core single-family market. That said, we’re still talking about a low level of activity overall. Pricing also remains weak, and distressed inventory continues to find its way into the market courtesy of an ongoing wave of foreclosures.

We also have to watch the credit markets closely. The European chaos is spreading into more and more corners of the banking sector and capital markets. That could lead to tightening credit standards in the mortgage market, exactly what potential home buyers DON’T need right now.

We just got a look at September existing home sales figures. Total sales fell 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million from 5.06 million in August. That was right in line with the estimates of economists polled by Bloomberg. Single-family sales dropped 3.6%, while condo sales rose 1.8%.

The “months supply at current sales pace” indicator of inventory inched up to 8.5 from 8.4, while the raw number of homes for sale dipped 2% to 3.48 million. Meanwhile, the median price of an existing home fell sharply to $165,400 from $171,200 a month earlier. That was down 3.5% from a year ago.

September was another lackluster month for the housing sector, with used home sales falling slightly and home prices slipping a bit. Tighter lending standards and ongoing weakness in the labor market are combining to cap demand, while an ongoing influx of foreclosed properties is keeping the supply of homes for sale from declining sharply. The result is continued pressure on home pricing, and a stagnant buying climate.

The September housing starts figures were just released and they popped by a surprising 15%. The 658,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate of starts was well ahead the median forecast of 590,000 and the highest since April 2010. We saw broad-based regional strength as well, led by the West with a gain of 18.1%.

However, the strength was mostly in the multifamily sector, where starts surged 51.3%. The less-volatile single-family market was more subdued, with a gain of only 1.7%. On the building permits front, we saw a slide in both the multifamily (-14.5%) and single-family (-0.2%) sectors. That left permits at a five-month low, portending a slowdown in future construction. The West led with a 9% decline in permits.

Construction of multifamily properties like apartments, condos, and town homes perked up in September, helping push housing starts to the highest level in 17 months. However, permitting activity slipped and the less-volatile single-family market remains subdued. So once again, we’re left with a mixed bag of news on the housing front. It will take a more vigorous rebound in the labor market, an improvement in consumer confidence, and a loosening of lending standards to really rev up the housing market’s engine again. Unfortunately, those forces don’t appear to be coming together.

The latest pending home sales figures were just released, and they showed a 1.2% drop between July and August. That was the second monthly decline in a row and it left the seasonally adjusted index at 88.6, the lowest since April. Sales fell 2.4% in the West, 3.7% in the Midwest, and 5.8% in the Northeast. Sales rose 2.6% in the South.

We already knew the new home market slipped to a multi-month low in August. Now, it appears we’re seeing the same deterioration in the “used” home arena. While mortgage rates remain historically low, buyers simply lack the confidence to step up to the plate and buy homes. They’re worried about losing their jobs, and rightfully so. As a result, housing continues to act like an anchor around the neck of the economy, preventing a meaningful recovery.

We just got new home sales figures for August, and they were nothing to write home about. Sales fell 2.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 295,000 from 302,000 a month earlier. That was roughly in line with the average forecast of analysts polled by Bloomberg.

The number of homes on the market continued to sink, hitting 162,000 last month. That’s the lowest level in the history of the U.S., and roughly 6.6 months of supply at the current sales pace (in line with the last several months). Too bad it didn’t do anything to support pricing – median home prices fell 7.7% on a yearly basis and 8.7% from a month earlier. At $209,100, new home prices are the lowest since last October.

A weakening economy, falling consumer confidence, and tighter credit standards are all weighing on housing demand. New home sales fell to a six-month low in August, with declines in three out of four regions of the country. Pricing was also weak, despite there being an extremely low level of new homes for sale. That’s proof positive that competition from a glut of existing, “nearly new” homes is still weighing heavily on the market. Bottom line: The hunt for that elusive, long-lasting housing bottom continues!

The latest housing starts figures just hit the tape. Starts fell 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000 in August from 601,000 a month earlier. That missed expectations for a reading of 590,000. On the flip side, building permits rose 3.2% to a 620,000 SAAR from 601,000. That was slightly above forecasts for a reading of 590,000.

Starts fell 1.4% in the single-family market and 13.5% in the multifamily arena. They were up 2.2% in the West and 2.6% in the Midwdest, but down 3.3% in the South and 29.1% in the Northeast. As for permits, they rose 2.5% in single-family and 4.5% in multifamily. Permits were up in most of the country — 3.3% in the Northeast, 6.3% in the Midwest and 11.3% in the West. They fell 1.3% in the South.

The housing market continues to muddle along, with little net progress. Builder optimism, mortgage applications, sales activity and now, construction activity, all remain mired near their recent lows. In August, for instance, construction activity slipped to a three-month low — off almost 6% from a year ago. Permitting activity was a bit better, but still a few hundred thousand units below what you would call healthy. In other words, the patient has a pulse, but it sure isn’t a strong one!

Pending home sales dipped in July, falling 1.3% on the month. That was roughly in line with expectations. Regionally speaking, sales fell 0.8% in the Midwest, 2% in the Northeast, and 4.8% in the South. They rose 3.6% in the West.

The pending home sales figures fall into the same “lackluster” category as all the rest of the recent housing data. Low mortgage rates are simply not enough to overcome all the obstacles out there — including elevated unemployment, slumping consumer confidence, and the fear of declining prices down the road. I continue to expect little net progress for housing in 2011, with demand remaining anemic and the excess supply of homes only gradually coming down.

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About 48 hours from now — on Friday, August 26, 2011 — Benjamin S. Bernanke will step before the microphones in Jackson Hole to comment after this week’s Federal Reserve meetings there.

Normally, we’d expect the Fed chief to use this occasion to address the slowing U.S. economy — NOT to issue a major policy announcement.

But this time, expectations are sky-high that Bernanke will pull a rabbit out of his hat; unveil a vast new stimulus scheme designed to re-ignite the U.S. economy.

That’s why stocks rallied yesterday. That’s why gold prices have pulled back slightly in the last day or so.

That’s OK — any pause … any decline in gold prices is a good thing at this point: Pullbacks are a healthy element in every bull market. But make no mistake:

No matter what Bernanke says …

No matter what the Fed does …

GOLD will continue to spin off huge gains!

When you think about it, it’s clear that only one of two things can happen this Friday:

Either Bernanke will break with precedent and give investors what they expect — announce that the Fed is about to print billions of new, unbacked dollars in an attempt to stimulate the economy …

In which case the world’s investors will fear inflation — AND BUY GOLD …

OR, the Fed will NOT announce a new round of money-printing …

In which case investors’ high expectations will be dashed, leading many to fear economic chaos — AND BUY GOLD!

Either way, this great gold bull market is FAR from over. Either way, any pullbacks will be short-lived. Either way, gold prices will ultimately continue to surge over the long haul.

Either way, the gold investments I’ve been urging you to buy should continue to shoot the moon!

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The high cost of bad advice: Why most people who think they’re ready to survive this crisis have made the wrong preparations and could be even more vulnerable than those who haven’t prepared at all …

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Federal Reserve policymakers are meeting in Jackson Hole Wyoming this week — and global investors couldn’t be more excited.

Judging from today’s market action, they’re expecting big things from the Fed at the end of the week — something; anything to save the U.S. economy and stock market.

Unfortunately, they’re likely to be bitterly disappointed: The grand announcement they’re waiting for may never come.

The simple truth is, there is no political support whatsoever for new Fed intervention in the economy! Inflation is running too hot.

Everyone and his sister knows that QE juices commodity prices — making it harder for everyday Americans to pay their bills. One major Republican presidential candidate has openly questioned the Fed’s whole reason for being, while another went so far as to call money-printing “treasonous”!

And even if Bernanke does try to print more money, it won’t matter for more than a few hours or days. Reason: We’ve already seen that Quantitative Easing doesn’t work!

The market has given up all its QE2 gains … and more. At the same time, the real economy is heading back into a double dip recession — DESPITE the hundreds of billions of dollars Washington has borrowed, spent, and printed!

Either way, Bernanke’s big speech on Friday will be a non-event. Any stock market gains we see in the meantime will be wiped out in the twinkling of an eye.

Dangerous Sleight of Hand

And while the entire world obsesses over what the Fed may or may not announce this coming Friday, the economic nightmare I’ve been warning about isn’t waiting.

Just this morning, we learned that the crisis that triggered this great financial calamity in the first place — the U.S. real estate collapse — is still intensifying.

In July, new home sales fell again — to a new five-month low.

Worse: The median price of a new home fell 6.3% between June and July.

Imagine; despite the trillions already spent to fight this crisis, new home prices are still plunging 6.3% in a single month!

Separately, an index of manufacturing activity in the Richmond Fed’s territory plunged to MINUS 10 in August. Not only did that miss economist forecasts by a country mile, it was also a fresh 26-month low!

No wonder U.S. financial stocks are getting their heads handed to them!

In fact, the banks are trading like it’s 2008 all over again. Goldman Sachs and AIG have fallen to within an eyelash of their recession lows. Bank of America is already there.

Do NOT be deceived: This great crisis is here now — and nothing the Fed says or does can stop it.

As Dr. Weiss says in our all-new video — America’s Financial Doomsday …

“An historic, world-changing event is about to end the American way of life as we know it.

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Just ahead — the event that will change your world forever: The monumental event that now threatens to trigger the ultimate financial doomsday — and why it will plunge vast numbers of U.S. families into the nightmare of poverty, homelessness and hunger …

The high cost of bad advice: Why most people who think they’re ready to survive this crisis have made the wrong preparations and could be even more vulnerable than those who haven’t prepared at all …

Crucial self-defense: How to get through this disaster with your wealth intact, and …

Windfall profits available: How a handful of Americans will use this crisis to build enormous wealth — and how you can too!

America’s Financial Doomsday is free — just click this link and the video will begin playing immediately.

Best wishes,

Mike Larson

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New home sales figures for July were just released. They showed that sales dipped 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 298,000 from a downwardly revised 300,000 in June. That was slightly worse than the 310,000 sales economists were looking for, and the lowest level since February.

The raw number of homes for sale dipped against to 165,000 from 166,000 a month earlier, while the “months supply at current sales pace” indicator of inventory held at 6.6. The median price of a new home fell 6.3% from $236,800 in June to $222,000 in July. But that was still up 4.7% from a year earlier.

July was another lackluster month for the new home market, with sales slumping in the key West and South regions and pricing taking another turn for the worse. Early reports suggest sales may be even worse in August given the slump in the economy and the sharp drop in consumer confidence we’ve seen. It all goes back to the labor market — If we can’t create many more jobs in this country, we’re not going to see a lasting rebound in housing demand. And it sure doesn’t look like unemployment is going to fall sharply anytime soon.