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- US: New Residential Sales (Apr)
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Mortgage Loan Refinancings Surge as Rates Steady
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Index gained 2.4% (15.4% y/y) during the week ending May 17...
U.K. Inflation Kicks Up
The Bank of England makes monetary policy off the CPIH, the CPI measure inclusive of a measure of housing costs...
U.S. Existing Home Sales Continue to Slide
The NAR reported that sales of existing homes during April eased 0.4% (-4.4% y/y)...
Philadelphia Fed Nonmanufacturing Business Activity Index Weakens
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its Nonmanufacturing Business Index of current conditions at the company level fell to 28.1 during May...
U.S. Gasoline Prices Slip; Crude Oil Costs Rise
Retail gasoline prices eased another two cents last week to $2.85 per gallon (-2.4% y/y) ...
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 |
