Global| Aug 24 2006New Home Sales Down, Inventory Ballooned
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single family home sales dropped 4.3% last month to 1.072M though a 0.9% June decline was revised shallower. Consensus expectations had been for July sales of 1.10M. New home sales during the first seven months of this [...]
Sales of new single family home sales dropped 4.3% last month to 1.072M though a 0.9% June decline was revised shallower. Consensus expectations had been for July sales of 1.10M.
New home sales during the first seven months of this year fell 13.5% from the first seven months of 2005 and last month were 21.6% below the monthly peak last July.
Sales in the Midwest fell the hardest last month, down 21.3% (-35.4% y/y). Sales in the South also fell 8.0% (-12.4% y/y). In the Northeast sales rose a slight 1.8% (-42.9% y/y) and sales out West recovered 11.7% (-23.4% y/y.
The number of new homes for sale rose 1.1% m/m in July and rose 22.4% y/y. The year to year breakdown by region is as follows: Northeast, 32.5%; West, 30.0%; South, 27.9%; Midwest, -1.0%.
The median sales price of a new single family home fell 1.6% to $230,000, down 10.5% from the April peak.
| U.S. New Homes | July | June | Y/Y | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sales (AR, 000's) | 1,072 | 1,120 | -21.6% | 1,280 | 1,201 | 1,091 |
| Median Price (NSA) | $230,000 | $233,800 | 0.3% | $234,208 | $217,817 | $191,383 |
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.
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