Global| Jul 26 2016U.S. New Home Sales and Prices Strengthen
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Housing market improvement continued during June. Sales of new single-family homes increased 3.5% (25.4% y/y) to 592,000 (SAAR) from 572,000 in May, revised from 551,000. Sales of 557,000 had been expected in the Action Economics [...]
Housing market improvement continued during June. Sales of new single-family homes increased 3.5% (25.4% y/y) to 592,000 (SAAR) from 572,000 in May, revised from 551,000. Sales of 557,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
The median price of a new home recovered 6.2% to $306,00 (6.1% y/y) following May's 9.8% decline. The average price of a new home increased 1.9% to $358,200 (8.8% y/y).
The decline in new home sales was paced by a 5.6% drop in the Northeast to 34,000 (30.8% y/y) which added to the prior month's decline. Sales in the South eased 0.3% (+21.1% y/y) to 321,000 following three months of firm increase. Countering these declines was a 10.9% increase (24.6% y/y) in the West to 152,000 which recouped the prior month's decline. Sales in the Midwest also firmed 10.4% (44.1% y/y) to 85,000 which added to May's m/m rise by roughly one quarter.
The months' supply of homes at the current sales rate declined to 4.9, the lowest level since February of last year. The median number of months a new home was on the market eased to 3.8 (NSA).
The data in this report are available in Haver's USECON database. The consensus expectation figure from the Action Economics Forecast Survey is available in the AS1REPNA database.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Jun | May | Apr | Y/Y % | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 592 | 572 | 572 | 25.4 | 502 | 440 | 430 |
| Northeast | 34 | 36 | 40 | 30.8 | 25 | 28 | 31 |
| Midwest | 85 | 77 | 62 | 44.1 | 61 | 58 | 61 |
| South | 321 | 322 | 318 | 21.1 | 287 | 244 | 233 |
| West | 152 | 137 | 152 | 24.6 | 131 | 110 | 106 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 306,700 | 288,800 | 320,000 | 6.1 | 297,258 | 283,775 | 265,092 |
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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