Global| May 22 2014U.S. Existing Home Sales Post a Small Gain
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The worst of the winter's harsh weather effect on housing may have passed, but there's little buoyancy in its wake. Sales of existing single-family homes in April gained 1.3% (-6.8% y/y) to 4.650 million (AR) versus an unrevised 4.590 [...]
The worst of the winter's harsh weather effect on housing may have passed, but there's little buoyancy in its wake. Sales of existing single-family homes in April gained 1.3% (-6.8% y/y) to 4.650 million (AR) versus an unrevised 4.590 million in March. Despite the monthly gain, which was only the second in the last nine months, sales remained 13.6% below the July peak. The latest level fell short of expectations for 4.69 million sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Sales of existing single family homes improved 0.5% to 4.060 million (-7.7% y/y). Sales of condos and co-ops increased 7.3% (0.0% y/y).
The median sales price of an existing single-family home increased 2.5% to $201,700 last month (5.2% y/y) but remained 5.7% below the peak this past June. Prices also remained 12.4% lower than the all-time peak in July 2006.
Home affordability declined 3.2% during March (-12.8% y/y) as higher home prices offset the decline in mortgage rates to 4.38%.
The inventory of unsold homes rose 16.8% last month (6.5% y/y) but remained 43.3% below the 2007 peak. The months' supply of unsold homes jumped m/m to 5.9. That compares to an 11.9 month supply in July of 2010.
The data on existing home sales, prices and affordability can be found in Haver's USECON database. The regional price, affordability and inventory data are available in the REALTOR database. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics survey, reported in the AS1REPNA database.
| Existing Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Y/Y % | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 4,650 | 4,590 | 4,600 | -6.8 | 5,073 | 4,659 | 4,277 |
| Northeast | 600 | 600 | 550 | -6.3 | 659 | 597 | 543 |
| Midwest | 1,030 | 1,040 | 1,000 | -9.6 | 1,193 | 1,064 | 917 |
| South | 1,940 | 1,920 | 1,980 | -3.5 | 2,032 | 1,834 | 1,683 |
| West | 1,080 | 1,030 | 1,070 | -10.0 | 1,190 | 1,164 | 1,133 |
| Single-Family Sales | 4,060 | 4,040 | 4,040 | -7.7 | 4,471 | 4,128 | 3,792 |
| Median Price Total ($, NSA) | 201,700 | 196,700 | 188,300 | 5.2 | 195,667 | 175,442 | 164,542 |
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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