Global| May 22 2012U.S. Existing Home Sales Rise While Prices Improve
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of existing homes rose 3.4% last month to a 4.620 annual rate (10.0% y/y) from a revised 4.470M during March, last month reported as 4.480M. Sales of existing single-family homes alone increased 3.0% last month to 4.090M, up [...]
Sales of existing homes rose 3.4% last month to a 4.620 annual rate (10.0% y/y) from a revised 4.470M during March, last month reported as 4.480M. Sales of existing single-family homes alone increased 3.0% last month to 4.090M, up 9.9% y/y. (These data have a longer history than the total sales series). Sales of condos and co-ops increased 2.3% m/m to 0.450M, up 7.1% y/y.
The median price of an existing home rose 7.6% (10.1% y/y) to $177,400. In the Northeast, the median sales price of $256,600 was up 8.8% y/y. In the West, the median price rose 15.9% y/y to $221,700. In the South, the price of $153,400 was up 8.0% y/y and in the Midwest the price of $141,400 rose 7.4% y/y.
The months' supply of homes on the market ticked up to 6.6 but still was near the lowest since March, 2006. The months' supply of single-family homes on the market rose to 6.6 but for condos & coops it slipped to 6.9. The total number of homes on the market rose 9.5% but still was down 20.6% y/y to still near the lowest since 2005. Inventories of single-family homes fell 18.8% y/y while inventories of multi-family homes were off nearly one-third.
Reported earlier this month, the composite index of home price affordability rose 11.0% y/y in March to nearly another record high as mortgage payments as a percent of income held at 12.2% versus the high of roughly 25% in 2006. The average monthly mortgage rate slipped to 4.0%.
The data on existing home sales, prices and affordability can be found in Haver's USECON database. The regional price, affordability and inventory data are available in the REALTOR database. The expectations figure is in the AS1REPNA database.
| Existing Home Sales (Thous, SAAR) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 4,620 | 4,470 | 4,600 | 10.0 | 4,283 | 4,181 | 4,329 |
| Northeast | 620 | 590 | 590 | 19.2 | 544 | 563 | 580 |
| Midwest | 1,030 | 1,020 | 1,020 | 14.4 | 920 | 908 | 975 |
| South | 1,790 | 1,730 | 1,770 | 6.5 | 1,685 | 1,626 | 1,640 |
| West | 1.180 | 1,130 | 1,220 | 7.3 | 1,133 | 1,083 | 1,134 |
| Single-Family Sales | 4,090 | 3,970 | 4,070 | 4.9 | 3,797 | 3,704 | 3,868 |
| Median Price, Total, ($, NSA) | 177,400 | 164,800 | 156,600 | 10.1 | 164,542 | 172,442 | 172,783 |
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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