Recent Updates
- US: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (Q2)
- US: Home Builders (Sep)
- Canada Regional: Manufacturing Shipments by Province (Jul)
- Canada: MSIO (Jul)
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- Turkey: Retail Sales (Jul); South Africa: Manufacturing Survey (Q4); Morocco: Public Finance (Aug); Uganda: Public Finance (Aug-Prelim); UAE: Central Bank Balance Sheet, Monetary
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Home Builder Index Holds Steady
The Composite Housing Market Index from the National
Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo remained unchanged during September at
67...
Empire State Manufacturing Index Eases; Prices Improve
The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business
Conditions declined to 19.0 during September from 25.6 in August
British Chamber of Commerce Cuts Forecasts
The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) today announced cutting its outlook for the UK economy...
U.S. Retail Sales Edge Higher
Total retail sales improved 0.1% (6.6% y/y) during August
following a 0.7% July gain...
U.S. Government Budget Deficit Widens Sharply
Faster growth in spending and a lessened increase in revenues
is a sure formula for widening the budget deficit...
by Tom Moeller April 25, 2005
Sales of existing homes rose 1.0% in March to 6.890M versus Consensus expectations for sales of 6.78M.
Improved methodology, better modeling and the addition of condo & co-op sales affected the figures back to 1999. The data reflect closings of home sales in earlier months.
Single-family home sales increased 1.2% in March but remained 1-2% off last year's highs.
Single family home sales rose m/m across the country's regions. In the Northeast sales improved 1.2% (3.7% y/y) and in the Midwest sales rose 1.5% (2.2% y/y). Sales in the South increased 0.9% (5.4% y/y) and in the West sales rose 1.4% (5.7% y/y).
The median price of an existing single family home rose sharply m/m to $193,600 (+11.3% y/y).
The latest release from the National Association of Realtors is available here.
| Existing Home Sales (000, AR) | Mar | Feb | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Home Sales | 6,890 | 6,820 | 4.9% | 6,723 | 6,170 | 5,653 |
| Single Family Home Sales | 6,040 | 5,970 | 4.5% | 5,913 | 5,441 | 4,995 |
