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Economy in Brief
Philadelphia Fed Factory Conditions Recover; Prices Surge
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index rebounded to 25.7 during July...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Hit Lowest Since 1969
Initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to 207,000 during the week ended July 14...
Japan's Trade Deficit Swings Back to Surplus (Small Surplus)
Japan's early June trade results show a goods trade position having swung back to surplus in June from deficit in May...
U.S. Housing Starts Weaken Unexpectedly
Total housing starts declined 12.3% (-4.2% y/y) during June to 1.173 million (AR)...
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Reverse Earlier Increase
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Index declined 2.5% last week (-12.8% y/y)...
by Tom Moeller October 27, 2005
New single-family home sales edged up 2.1% last month to 1.222M but that followed an 11.6% drop in August which was deeper than estimated initially. Consensus expectations had been for 1.25M sales in September.
Sales fell a sharp 11.8% (-16.2% y/y) in the Northeast, down hard for the fourth month in the last five and sales are 43.4% below the April peak. In the West sales also fell by 11.8% (-16.2% y/y). Sales in the Midwest bucked the trend and rose 24.9% (0.4% y/y) while sales in the South also rose 5.6% (14.1% y/y).
The median price of a new single family home fell 5.7% m/m (+1.9% y/y) after an upwardly revised 4.1% August gain.
The figures from the Census Department reflect home sales counted at the time of sales contract or deposit.
| Homes Sales (000s, AR) | Sept | Aug | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Single-Family | 1,222 | 1,197 | -0.1% | 1,200 | 1,091 | 976 |
