Global| Apr 22 2013U.S. Existing Home Sales Slip but Prices Improve
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The National Association of Realtors reported that March sales of existing homes fell 0.6% (+10.3% y/y) to a 4.920M annual rate. The increase followed a downwardly revised 0.2% February uptick. The latest fell short of Consensus [...]
The National Association of Realtors reported that March sales of existing homes fell 0.6% (+10.3% y/y) to a 4.920M annual rate. The increase followed a downwardly revised 0.2% February uptick. The latest fell short of Consensus expectations for 5.01M sales. Sales of existing single-family homes alone slipped 0.2% to 4.320M, up 9.1% y/y. (These data have a longer history than the total sales series.) Sales of condos and co-ops fell 3.2% m/m to 0.600M, up 20.0% y/y.
The median price of an existing home rose 6.2% (11.8% y/y) to $184,300. In the West, the median price rose 26.1% y/y to $258,100. In the Northeast, the median sales price of $237,000 was 3.0% higher y/y. In the South, the price of $161,700 was up 10.4% y/y and in the Midwest the price rose 7.8% y/y to $141,800.
The supply of homes on the market ticked up slightly from its seven-year low to 4.7 months. The months' supply of single-family homes on the market also rose to a low 4.7 months but for condos & coops it slipped to 4.7 months. The total number of homes on the market rose 1.6% m/m but still was off 16.8% y/y. Inventories of single-family homes fell 16.3% y/y while inventories of multi-family homes were off 19.7% y/y.
Reported earlier this month, the composite index of home price affordability fell 1.8% y/y. Mortgage payments as a percent of income m/m were near the series' low at 12.1% versus the high of roughly 25.0% in 2006. The average monthly mortgage rate was 3.56%.
The data on existing home sales, prices and affordability can be found in Haver's USECON database. The regional price, affordability and inventory data are available in the REALTOR database. The expectations figure is in the AS1REPNA database.
| Existing Home Sales (Thous, SAAR) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 4,920 | 4,950 | 4,940 | 10.3 | 4,661 | 4,278 | 4,183 |
| Northeast | 630 | 630 | 650 | 6.8 | 596 | 543 | 563 |
| Midwest | 1,160 | 1,140 | 1,160 | 14.9 | 1,067 | 918 | 909 |
| South | 1,950 | 1,980 | 1,960 | 12.7 | 1,833 | 1,683 | 1,626 |
| West | 1,180 | 1,200 | 1,170 | 4.4 | 1,165 | 1,133 | 1,084 |
| Single-Family Sales | 4,320 | 4,320 | 4,370 | 9.1 | 4,130 | 3,793 | 3,705 |
| Median Price, Total, ($, NSA) | 184,300 | 173,200 | 170,600 | 11.8 | 175,442 | 164,542 | 172,442 |
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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