Global| May 23 2019U.S. New Home Sales Decline While Prices Rise
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
New home sales declined 6.9% (+7.0% y/y) during April to 673,000 (SAAR) from 723,000 in March, revised from 692,000. Despite the decline, sales were 20.8% higher than the recent low in October. Sales of 671,000 had been expected in [...]
New home sales declined 6.9% (+7.0% y/y) during April to 673,000 (SAAR) from 723,000 in March, revised from 692,000. Despite the decline, sales were 20.8% higher than the recent low in October. Sales of 671,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. These sales transactions are recorded when sales contracts are signed or deposits are made.
The median price of a new home rebounded 11.9% last month (8.8% y/y) to $342,200 after falling 3.3% to $305,800 during March. The April level was just below the record high of $343,400 logged during November 2017. The average price of a new home rose 5.7% (2.2% y/y to $393,700.
Sales declined in most regions of the country. Sales in the Midwest fell 7.4% last month (+3.6% y/y) to 87,000. New home sales in the West declined 8.3% (+16.8% y/y) to 188,000. In the South, sales were off 7.3% (+5.1% y/y) to 369,000. Increasing by 11.5% to 29,000 were new home sales in the Northeast. Nevertheless, sales remained well below last year's high reached in June.
The months' supply of homes on the market increased to 5.9 in April, but it 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 3.5 months, still up from the low of 2.7 months 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) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 673 | 723 | 669 | 7.0 | 617 | 613 | 561 |
| Northeast | 29 | 26 | 33 | -12.1 | 32 | 38 | 34 |
| Midwest | 87 | 94 | 82 | 3.6 | 76 | 70 | 68 |
| South | 369 | 398 | 380 | 5.1 | 349 | 338 | 318 |
| West | 188 | 205 | 174 | 16.8 | 162 | 162 | 143 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 342,200 | 305,800 | 316,100 | 8.8 | 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.
More Economy in Brief
