· During
March, new single family home sales fell 8.5%. The decline to 526,000
followed a 5.3% drop during February that was revised deeper from the
initial report. A March sales level of 585,000 had been expected. The
latest level of sales was the lowest since 1991.
· By
region, double digit month-to-month declines were logged in the
Northeast (-64.6% y/y), in the Midwest (-50.0% Y/Y) and in the West
(-39.3% y/y). In the South new home sales fell by a lesser 4.6% m/m
(-25.9% y/y).
· The
median price for a new single family home fell 6.8% to $227,600 and
reduced prices to near their lowest since 2004.
· The number of new homes for sale fell 1.1% last month
(-14.6% y/y). That inventory was down 18.3% from the peak in mid-2006.
· Will Rural Prosperity Prevail in 2008? from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is available here.