Global| Feb 24 2011U.S. New Home Sales Decline
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Total new home sales in January fell 12.6% to 284,000 and reversed most of the downwardly revised 15.7% December gain. Consensus expectations were for 300,000 sales. Sales have fallen by three-quarters from the all-time record [...]
Total new home sales in January fell 12.6% to 284,000 and reversed most of
the downwardly revised 15.7% December gain. Consensus expectations were for 300,000
sales. Sales have fallen by three-quarters from the all-time record 1,279,000 in
2005. The decline in January sales was most pronounced in the West. A roughly
one-third drop m/m to 66,000 reversed the two-thirds increase during December.
Sales in the South also fell a sharp 12.8% to 143,000 after several months of
stability at a higher level. Sales in the Northeast rose by roughly one-half to
34,000 while sales in the Midwest rose 17.1% to 41,000.
With the decline in sales last month, the inventory of unsold homes rose to a 7.9 months supply. Nevertheless, it remained down versus the recent high of 9.1 in August. The latest also was just over half the high in January 2009.
The median price of a new single family home slipped 1.9% to $230,500 from a downwardly revised December level. Nevertheless, the latest was near the highest since April 2008.
The data in this report are available in Haver's USECON database.
| US New Home Sales | Jan | Dec | Nov | Y/Y % | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (SAAR, 000s) | 284 | 325 | 281 | -18.6 | 321 | 374 | 482 |
| Northeast | 34 | 22 | 22 | -19.0 | 31 | 32 | 35 |
| Midwest | 41 | 35 | 32 | -25.5 | 44 | 54 | 69 |
| South | 143 | 164 | 163 | -17.8 | 172 | 201 | 265 |
| West | 66 | 104 | 64 | -15.4 | 73 | 87 | 113 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 230,600 | 235,000 | 221,400 | 5.7 | 220,875 | 214,500 | 230,408 |
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.
More Economy in Brief
