Global| Mar 05 2019U.S. New Home Sales and Prices Increase
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
New home sales increased 3.7% to 621,000 during December following a November increase to 599,000, revised from 657,000. It was the highest level of sales in six months. During all of 2018, new home sales increased 0.9% to 621,000, [...]
New home sales increased 3.7% to 621,000 during December following a November increase to 599,000, revised from 657,000. It was the highest level of sales in six months. During all of 2018, new home sales increased 0.9% to 621,000, the highest level since 2007. December sales of 585,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The government shutdown delayed this report by roughly five weeks. These sales transactions are recorded when sales contracts are signed or deposits are made.
The median price of a new home rose 5.0% (-7.2% y/y) in December to $318,600. For the full year, the median price was fairly steady y/y at a record $321,483. The average price of a new home rose slightly m/m to $377,000 (-6.4% y/y) and was steady for the full year at $377,992.
By region, sales in the Northeast rose to 42,000 (16.7% y/y) while sales in the South improved to 375,000 (7.4% y/y). New home sales in the West were fairly steady at 143,000 (-23.9% y/y), but sales in the Midwest declined to 61,000 (-3.2% y/y).
The months' supply of homes on the market eased to 6.6 in December, but was up from 5.5 months twelve months earlier. The figure was increased versus the low of 4.5 months in July 2016. The median number of months a new home was on the market after its completion increased to a still low 3.3 months.
The data in this report are available in Haver's USECON database. The consensus expectation figure from Action Economics is available in the AS1REPNA database.
Modeling Financial Crises from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is available here.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Dec | Nov | Oct | Dec Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 621 | 599 | 549 | -2.4 | 621 | 616 | 560 |
| Northeast | 42 | 39 | 23 | 16.7 | 34 | 40 | 32 |
| Midwest | 61 | 72 | 63 | -3.2 | 76 | 72 | 69 |
| South | 375 | 357 | 300 | 7.4 | 350 | 341 | 317 |
| West | 143 | 141 | 163 | -23.9 | 162 | 164 | 142 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 318,600 | 303,500 | 324,700 | -7.2 | 321,483 | 321,633 | 306,500 |
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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