Global| Jun 23 2021U.S. New Home Sales Decline Unexpectedly in May
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• Sales fall for second straight month. • Decline centers in the South. • Median home prices set new record. Sales of new single-family homes declined 5.9% (+9.2% y/y) during May to 769,000 units (SAAR) from 817,000 during April, [...]
• Sales fall for second straight month.
• Decline centers in the South.
• Median home prices set new record.
Sales of new single-family homes declined 5.9% (+9.2% y/y) during May to 769,000 units (SAAR) from 817,000 during April, revised from 863,000. It was the lowest level of sales in twelve months. March sales were revised to 886,000 from 917,000. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 870,000 sales in May.
Sales in the South fell 14.5% (+3.1% y/y) to 432,000 units after weakening 10.1% to 505,000 in April, revised from 545,000. It also was the lowest level of sales in twelve months. Rising by one-third (57.6% y/y) to 52,000 were sales in the Northeast. April sales were revised to 39,000 from 44,000. Sales in the West rose 6.7% both m/m and y/y to 190,000 from 178,000 in April, revised from 164,000. Sales in the Midwest held at 95,000 (28.4% y/y) but April sales were revised from 110,000.
The median price of a new home rose 2.5% (18.1% y/y) to $374,400, following a 4.9% April gain to $365,300, revised from $372,400. Working 2.3% higher (16.8% y/y) to $430,600 was the average sales price. April's average price was revised to $420,900 from $435,400. These prices are not seasonally adjusted.
The supply of new homes for sale rose to 5.1 months in May, the most in 12 months. The median number of months a new home stayed on the market was 3.5, following 4.5 months in April and 5.0 months in March.
New home sales activity and prices 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) | May | Apr | Mar | May Y/Y % | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 769 | 817 | 886 | 9.2 | 828 | 683 | 614 |
| Northeast | 52 | 39 | 51 | 57.6 | 37 | 30 | 32 |
| Midwest | 95 | 95 | 113 | 28.4 | 94 | 72 | 75 |
| South | 432 | 505 | 562 | 3.1 | 476 | 399 | 347 |
| West | 190 | 178 | 160 | 6.7 | 221 | 182 | 159 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 374,400 | 365,300 | 348,300 | 18.1 | 334,992 | 319,267 | 323,125 |
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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