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Economy in Brief
U.S. Unemployment Claims Continue on an Uptrend
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended August 6 rose 14,000 to 262,000...
RICS Survey Points to More U.K. Housing Sector Weakness
The survey of housing market conditions in the U.K. continues to show strength in prices versus weakness...
U.S. CPI Unchanged in July with Drop in Energy Prices
Consumer prices were unchanged in July after an outsized 1.3% m/m jump in June...
U.S. Federal Government Budget Deficit Shrinks in July
The U.S. Treasury Department reported a federal budget deficit of $211.1 billion in July...
U.S. Mortgage Applications Rose Slightly in the Latest Week
Mortgage applications increased 0.2% (-62.9% y/y) from one week earlier...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller November 28, 2007
Another low was reached by existing home sales last month. The level of 4,970 (AR) about met expectations but was the lowest on record which extends back only to 1999. The tally of single family home sales, however, extends further back. For October, sales of existing single family homes were unchanged from the September level, but it was the lowest since early 1998. The figures are reported by the National Association of Realtors at the time sales are closed.
Weakness in sales last month was led by a 4.4% decline in sales out West. The count of single family sales in the West also fell by 2.5% (-33.1% y/y) to the lowest level since late 1995. Sales in the Midwest also were lower by 1.7% though single family sales were unchanged m/m (-15.9% y/y). Total sales in the Northeast were unchanged m/m as single family sales rose 3.1% (-13.2% y/y), the first gain in three months. In the South sales were also unchanged m/m as were sales of singe family units (-19.8% y/y).
The median price of an existing single family home fell for the fourth straight month. The 1.2% decline pulled prices 5.1% lower than last October and the price of an existing single family home fell as well, down 1.4% m/m and 6.3% y/y.
The Economic Outlook and Central Bank Policy is today' speech by Charles I. Plosser, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and it is available here.
October 2007 | Sept 2007 | Year Ago | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | M/M% | ||||||
Total Sales | 4,970 | -1.2% | 5,030 | 6,270 | 6,510 | 7,075 | 6,727 |
Northeast | 900 | 0.0 | 900 | 1,030 | 1,088 | 1,169 | 1,113 |
Midwest | 1,180 | -1.7 | 1,200 | 1,420 | 1,492 | 1,588 | 1,550 |
South | 2,030 | 0.0 | 2,030 | 2,520 | 2,578 | 2,704 | 2,540 |
West | 870 | -4.4 | 910 | 1,300 | 1,353 | 1,616 | 1,575 |
Single-Family | 4,370 | 0.0 | 4,370 | 5,708 | 5,677 | 6,182 | 5,958 |
Median Price, Total, $ | 207,800 | -1.2 | 210,400 | 218,900 | 222,000 | 218,217 | 193,233 |