Global| Jun 23 2017U.S. New Home Sales Improve; Prices Surge to Record
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single-family homes increased 2.9% during May (8.9% y/y) to 610,000 from 593,000 in April, revised from 569,000. Despite the increase, sales were 5.3% below the March peak. Expectations had been for 595,000 sales in the [...]
Sales of new single-family homes increased 2.9% during May (8.9% y/y) to 610,000 from 593,000 in April, revised from 569,000. Despite the increase, sales were 5.3% below the March peak. Expectations had been for 595,000 sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
The median price of a new home jumped 11.5% (16.8% y/y) to a record $345,800. The average price of a new home gained 10.5% (16.1% y/y) to $406,400, also a record.
The improvement in home sales was led by a 13.3% rise (14.1% y/y) in the West which followed a 17.8% decline. In the South, sales increased 6.2% (15.0% y/y) to the highest level since July. Moving the other way, sales declined 25.7% (-23.6% y/y) in the Midwest to the lowest level since March 2015. New home sales fell 10.8% in the Northeast. They were unchanged y/y at the lowest point in six months.
The months' supply of homes at the current sales rate held steady last month at 5.3, down from the recent high of 5.6 months in December. The median number of months a new home was on the market dropped sharply to 3.1 (NSA), the shortest period since October.
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.
Relationship Between Regulation and Economic Growth from Fed Governor Jerome H Powel is available here.
.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | May | Apr | Mar | May Y/Y % | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 610 | 593 | 644 | 8.9 | 561 | 503 | 440 |
| Northeast | 33 | 37 | 38 | 0.0 | 32 | 25 | 28 |
| Midwest | 55 | 74 | 86 | -23.6 | 69 | 61 | 58 |
| South | 360 | 339 | 346 | 15.0 | 317 | 286 | 244 |
| West | 162 | 143 | 174 | 14.1 | 142 | 130 | 110 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 345,800 | 310,200 | 320,100 | 16.8 | 310,567 | 297,258 | 283,775 |
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
