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Economy in Brief
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...
U.S. Housing Starts Dip in April but Remain Elevated
The pattern of housing construction activity seems to be shifting toward multifamily...
U.S. Mortgage Applications Continued to Slide Amid Higher Rates
The biggest declines have been in refinancing activity, while applications for purchase are just starting to crack...
UK Inflation Jumps
Inflation is at the highest rate since the series began in January of 1989...
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 & 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 February 26, 2020
Sales of new single-family homes increased 7.9% (18.6% y/y) during January to 764,000 units (SAAR), the highest level since July 2007. Sales increased from 708,000 in December, revised from 694,000. Figures for 2019 were revised. The Action Economics survey expected sales of 710,000.
The median price of a new home rose 7.4% (14.0% y/y) last month to a record $348,200. The average price of a new home also increased to a record of $402,300 (11.4% y/y). The home price figures are not seasonally adjusted.
Sales activity was mixed across the country in January. In the Midwest, sales rose 30.3% (47.8% y/y) to 99,000. Sales in the West rose 23.5% (49.1% y/y) to 252,000 units. Sales in the Northeast gained 4.8% (46.7% y/y) to 44,000. Working 4.4% lower to 369,000 (-2.4% y/y) were new home sales in the South.
The supply of homes on the market declined to 5.1 months in January from 5.5 in the prior two months. It was the lowest level since November 2017 and down from a high of 7.4 months at the end of 2018. The medium number of months that a new home was for sale rose to 3.3, up from 3.0 in December.
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) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y % | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 764 | 708 | 692 | 18.6 | 682 | 615 | 617 |
Northeast | 44 | 42 | 34 | 46.7 | 31 | 32 | 40 |
Midwest | 99 | 76 | 70 | 47.8 | 71 | 75 | 72 |
South | 369 | 386 | 403 | -2.4 | 399 | 348 | 341 |
West | 252 | 204 | 185 | 49.1 | 182 | 160 | 164 |
Median Price (NSA, $) | 348,200 | 324,100 | 328,000 | 14.0 | 318,817 | 323,125 | 321,633 |