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Economy in Brief
U.S. Consumer Credit Outstanding Declines in January
Consumers reduced credit balances further in January...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to $68.2 Billion in January
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $68.2 billion in January...
German Order Growth Gets Back in Gear Despite the Headwinds
German order growth is back in gear with total orders rising by 1.4% m/m in January...
U.S. Factory Orders & Shipments Rise Again in January
Manufacturing activity is strengthening. Factory orders rose 2.6% (2.8% y/y) in January...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Rise Just 9,000
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose modestly by 9,000 to 745,000 in the week ended February 27...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller May 24, 2005
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes jumped to another record high last month, up 4.5% at 7.180M versus Consensus expectations for sales of 6.90M. Sales during March were revised slightly lower.
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.
Sales of single-family homes also increased to a new record high. The 4.5% m/m gain to 6.280M pulled sales so far this year to 6.055M, up 2.4% versus 2004.
Existing home sales rose m/m across the country's regions except out West where sales were unchanged m/m (2.5% y/y). Sales in the South jumped 7.0% (8.3% y/y) higher and in the Midwest sales rose 5.8% (3.8% y/y). In the Northeast sales improved 4.3% (7.1% y/y).
The median price of an existing single family home surged further to $203,800 (15.1% y/y).
The latest release from the National Association of Realtors is available here.
Can Monetary Policy Influence Long Term Interest Rates? from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is available here.
Existing Home Sales (000, AR) | April | March | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Home Sales | 7,180 | 6,870 | 5.7% | 6,723 | 6,170 | 5,653 |
Single Family Home Sales | 6,280 | 6,010 | 5.0% | 5,913 | 5,441 | 4,995 |