Global| Jan 29 2009December U.S. New Home Sales Lowest Since 1963
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Last month, sales of new single-family homes fell to their lowest level in the series' history which dates back to 1963. The 14.7% m/m December decline to 331,000 followed a downwardly revised November. December-to-December, new home [...]
Last month, sales of new single-family homes fell to their lowest level in the series' history which dates back to 1963. The 14.7% m/m December decline to 331,000 followed a downwardly revised November. December-to-December, new home sales were off by half and down by three-quarters from their peak during July 2005. They fell short of Consensus expectations for 400,000.
December-to-December sales fell hard around the country, down by one-third to one-half.
The median price for a new single-family home continued to fall hard to $206,500 as homebuilders attempted to move inventory. In fact, that effort has been quite successful and the inventory of unsold homes is down by more than one-quarter during the last year to its lowest level since 2003. In each of the country's regions, the inventory is down by roughly one-quarter during the last year.
The month's supply of new homes for sale surged to 12.9, a record.New Adjustable-Rate Mortgages and the Libor Surprise From the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland can be found here.
| US New Homes | December | November | Y/Y (%) | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sales (SAAR, 000s) | 331 | 388 | -44.8 | 479 | 768 | 1,049 |
| Northeast | 28 | 39 | -50.0 | 35 | 64 | 64 |
| Midwest | 51 | 54 | -31.1 | 69 | 118 | 161 |
| South | 181 | 206 | -46.0 | 264 | 408 | 559 |
| West | 71 | 89 | -47.4 | 111 | 178 | 266 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 206,500 | 219,700 | -9.3 | 228,350 | 243,742 | 243,067 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
More Economy in Brief
