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Economy in Brief
Germany’s IFO Erodes
The German IFO gauge fell month-to-month to 6.5 in April from 8.7 in March in its diffusion presentation...
U.S. New Home Sales Increase As Prices Fall
New home sales increased 4.5% (3.0% y/y) during March to 692,000 (AR) following a rise to 662,000 in February...
U.S. FHFA House Price Index Improvement Slows
The FHFA Price Index for house purchases rose 0.3% in February...
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Retail gasoline prices edged one penny higher last week to $2.84 per gallon last week (1.5% y/y). ...
Japan’s CPI and Core CPI Creep Higher
Japan's money supply is showing no change in its rate of growth across its various measures...
by Tom Moeller March 23, 2018
Sales of new single-family homes slipped 0.6% to 618,000 (SAAR) during February following a January decline to 622,00, revised from 593,000. It was the third consecutive monthly decline from the November peak of 711,000. Expectations had been for 620,000 sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
The median price of a new home improved 0.6% (9.7% y/y) to $326,800 from 324,900, revised from $323,000. The average price of a new home eased 0.1% (+1.7% y/y) to $376,700.
Changes in new home sales were mixed last month across the country. In the Northeast, sales jumped 19.4% (8.8% y/y) to 37,000. Sales in the South increased 9.0% (0.6% y/y) to 338,000. Falling were sales in the Midwest by 3.7% (-8.1% y/y) to 79,000. Sales in the West also weakened by 17.6% (+3.1% y/y) to 164,000.
The months' supply of homes on the market rose to 5.9 from an October low of 4.8. The median number of months a new home was on the market remained low at 3.6 and has trended sideways since 2013.
The data in this report are available in Haver's USECON database. The consensus expectation figure from Action Economics is available in the AS1REPNA database.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 618 | 622 | 653 | 0.5 | 617 | 561 | 503 |
| Northeast | 37 | 31 | 34 | 8.8 | 39 | 32 | 25 |
| Midwest | 79 | 82 | 66 | -8.1 | 72 | 69 | 61 |
| South | 338 | 310 | 355 | 0.6 | 341 | 317 | 286 |
| West | 164 | 199 | 198` | 3.1 | 165 | 142 | 130 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 326,800 | 324,900 | 340,100 | 9.7 | 321,367 | 306,500 | 293,733 |
