Recent Updates
- TANKAN: Shizuoka (Q4)
- Korea: International Trade (Nov)
- Singapore: International Trade, Non-oil Domestic Exports (Nov)
- Australia: Petroleum Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures (Oct)
- Japan: Trends in National Market for Condominiums (Nov), TANKAN Short-term Economic Suvey, TANKAN Inflation Outlook of Enterprises (Q4)
- China: Insurance Industry (Nov)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Industrial Production Rebounds
Industrial production jumped a greater-than-expected 0.6% (3.9% year-on-year) during November...
U.S. Business Inventory Accumulation Picks Up
Total business inventories increased 0.6% (5.1% y/y) during October...
U.S. Import Prices Weaken As Petroleum Prices Fall; Export Prices Also Decline
Import prices fell 1.6% (+0.7% y/y) during November following an unrevised 0.5% October rise...
U.S. Government Budget Deficit Surges Unexpectedly
The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the federal government ran a $204.9 billion budget deficit during November...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Decline
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 206,000 (-7.6% y/y) during the week ended December 8...
by Tom Moeller May 25, 2005
New single-family home sales in April rose just 0.2% m/m to 1.316M and the prior month's increase was more than halved. Nevertheless, sales in April set a record and for the year to date are 5.8% ahead of the 2004 average. Consensus estimates had been for sales of 1.325M.
Sales in the Northeast last month spurted by more than one third (28.9% y/y). In the West sales rose moderately (6.4% y/y) but in the Midwest sales fell for the third month this year (+1.0% Y/Y). In the South sales also fell by 5.3% (+20.2% y/y).
The median price of a new single family home recovered most of the prior month's decline and rose 6.1% to $230,800 (3.8% y/y).
The figures from the Census Department reflect homes sold.
The latest FOMC meeting minutes can be found here.
| Homes Sales (000s, AR) | April | March | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Single-Family | 1,316 | 1,313 | 13.3% | 1,200 | 1,091 | 976 |
