Global| Mar 24 2020U.S. New Home Sales Ease While Prices Strengthen
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single-family homes declined 4.4% (+14.3% y/y) during February to 765,000 (AR) from 800,000 in January, revised from 764,000. The Action Economics survey expected sales of 754,000. The median price of a new home rose 6.3% [...]
Sales of new single-family homes declined 4.4% (+14.3% y/y) during February to 765,000 (AR) from 800,000 in January, revised from 764,000. The Action Economics survey expected sales of 754,000.
The median price of a new home rose 6.3% (7.8% y/y) last month to a record $345,900. The average price of a new home also increased to a record of $403,800 (5.3% y/y). The home price figures are not seasonally adjusted.
Sales activity was mixed across the country in February. Sales in the West declined 17.2% (+24.7% y/y) to 222,000 units. In the Midwest, sales fell 7.3% (+15.6% y/y) to 89,000. Working the other way, sales in the Northeast jumped 38.9% (47.1% y/y) to 50,000 while sales in the South edged 1.0% higher (6.3% y/y) to 404,000.
The supply of homes on the market rose to 5.0 months in February, but the January figure was revised down to 4.8 months. These figures were below the high of 7.4 months at the end of 2018. The medium number of months that a new home was for sale held steady at 3.3, down from 14 months at the beginning of the economic expansion.
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.
Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement (here).
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y % | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 765 | 800 | 724 | 14.3 | 682 | 615 | 617 |
| Northeast | 50 | 36 | 39 | 47.1 | 31 | 32 | 40 |
| Midwest | 89 | 96 | 84 | 15.6 | 71 | 75 | 72 |
| South | 404 | 400 | 393 | 6.3 | 399 | 348 | 341 |
| West | 222 | 268 | 208 | 24.7 | 182 | 160 | 164 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 345,900 | 325,300 | 327,700 | 7.8 | 318,817 | 323,125 | 321,633 |
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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