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Economy in Brief
UK Consumer Sentiment Hits Lowest Reading since 1996
(when the GFK survey began; also lowest reading 'ever')
Of these 13 readings eight of them declined on the month in May three of them improved and two of them were unchanged...
U.S. Existing Home Sales Continue to Fall in April as Houses Become Less Affordable
The combination of soaring home prices across the nation and rising interest rates is making homes less affordable...
U.S. Index of Leading Indicators Fell in April
Five of the index's components fell in April, one was unchanged and four increased...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Rose in the Latest Week
The state insured rates of unemployment in regular programs vary widely...
CBI Gauge in the UK Continues to Be Upbeat
The global economy has a lot of challenges...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Profits and Margins Plunge In Q1: Expect More Margin Contraction As Fed Squeezes Inflation
The Many Links of Inflation Cycle: Hard Landing Is Needed to Crack Them
Peak Inflation and Fed Policy: A Relationship which Should Worry the Fed and Scare Investors
Why Have the Yields on TIPS Been Negative in the Past Two Years?
by Tom Moeller November 29, 2012
Pending sales of single-family homes jumped 5.2% (13.2% y/y) last
month after a little revised 0.4% September rise, according to the National
Association of Realtors (NAR). The latest figure broke home sales out of the
sideways trend in place for much of this year.
The rise in sales was led by a 15.6% increase (20.0% y/y) in the Midwest and sales also rose 5.5% (17.4% y/y) in the South. Elsewhere in the country there was no strength. Sales fell 1.1% (+0.9% y/y) in the West and slipped 0.1% (+13.3% y/y) in the Northeast.
Pending home sales figures are analogous to the new home sales data from the Commerce Department in that they measure existing home sales when the sales contract is signed, not at the time the sale is closed. The series dates back to 2001 and the data are available in Haver's PREALTOR database.
The Fed's latest Beige Book covering regional economic conditions is available here.
| Pending Home Sales (2001=100) | Oct | Sep | Aug | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 104.8 | 99.6 | 99.2 | 13.2 | 90.3 | 89.2 | 94.7 |
| Northeast | 79.2 | 79.3 | 78.2 | 13.3 | 68.0 | 70.9 | 76.8 |
| Midwest | 104.4 | 90.3 | 95.0 | 20.0 | 81.6 | 79.9 | 88.9 |
| South | 117.3 | 111.2 | 110.4 | 17.4 | 98.3 | 97.0 | 98.4 |
| West | 105.7 | 106.9 | 102.5 | 0.9 | 104.2 | 100.8 | 109.2 |
