Global| Jul 24 2019U.S. New Home Sales and Prices Rise
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
New home sales rebounded 7.0% (4.5% y/y) during June to 646,000 after falling in May to 604,000, revised down from 626,000. Sales in April and March also were revised lower. Sales of 650,000 had been expected in the Action Economics [...]
New home sales rebounded 7.0% (4.5% y/y) during June to 646,000 after falling in May to 604,000, revised down from 626,000. Sales in April and March also were revised lower. Sales of 650,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. New home sales remained 16.0% higher than the recent low in October. These sales transactions are recorded when sales contracts are signed or deposits are made.
The median price of a new home increased 2.3% to $310,400 last month, but was roughly unchanged y/y. The rise reversed part of the prior month's decline to $303,500. Prices remained 9.6% below the record high of $343,400 in November 2017. The average price of a new home eased 0.7% (-0.4% y/y) to $368,600.
Sales were mixed m/m amongst the regions of the country. New home sales in the West rebounded by one-half m/m to 185,000 (19.4% y/y) and made up most of the prior month's decline. Home sales in the South were little changed in June (9.5% y/y) following a 7.0% May increase. Declining by roughly one-quarter m/m to 56,000 (-17.6% y/y) were new home sales in the Midwest. They have trended lower since March and now stand at the lowest sales level since September 2015. Sales in the Northeast eased slightly to 23,000 and were off by one-half y/y.
The months' supply of homes on the market slipped to 6.3 last month and remained well below the 7.4 months' supply reached in December. The median number of months a new home was on the market after its completion eased to 3.4 months but was higher than the low of 2.7 month low in October.
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.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Jun | May | Apr | Jun Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 646 | 604 | 658 | 4.5 | 617 | 613 | 561 |
| Northeast | 23 | 24 | 32 | -50.0 | 32 | 38 | 34 |
| Midwest | 56 | 76 | 70 | -17.6 | 76 | 70 | 68 |
| South | 382 | 381 | 356 | 9.5 | 349 | 338 | 318 |
| West | 185 | 123 | 200 | 19.4 | 162 | 162 | 143 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 310,400 | 303,500 | 337,200 | -0.0 | 323,125 | 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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