Global| Mar 23 2017U.S. New Home Sales Improve While Prices Decline
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single-family homes increased 6.1% (12.8% y/y) during February to 592,000 units (AR) from January's 558,000, revised from 555,000. Expectations had been for 565,000 sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The [...]
Sales of new single-family homes increased 6.1% (12.8% y/y) during February to 592,000 units (AR) from January's 558,000, revised from 555,000. Expectations had been for 565,000 sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The latest level was the highest since July, but remained below the peak reached that month of 622,000.
The median price of a new home (NSA) dropped a sharp 3.9% m/m (-4.9% y/y) to $296,200, the lowest level since July, from $308,200, revised from $312,900. The average price of a new home jumped 9.9% m/m (11.7% y/y) to a record high of $390,400.
The rebound in February sales occurred in three of the four regions of the country. In the Midwest, sales surged 30.9% (50.8% y/y) to 89,000, the highest level since November 2009. Sales in the West gained 7.5% (6.8% y/y) to 157,000, but have moved sideways for the last few months. In the South, sales improved 3.6% (7.9% y/y) to 313,000, but remained below July's high of 364,000. Declining 21.4% (+13.8% y/y) to 33,000 were sales in the Northeast.
The months' supply of homes at the current sales rate eased last month to 5.4 from its high of 5.6 in January. The median number of months a new home was on the market nudged higher to 3.4 (NSA) from 3.2, remaining below the most recent high of 4.1 months in April.
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.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y % | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 592 | 558 | 530 | 12.8 | 560 | 501 | 439 |
| Northeast | 33 | 42 | 38 | 13.8 | 34 | 24 | 28 |
| Midwest | 89 | 68 | 62 | 50.8 | 67 | 61 | 60 |
| South | 313 | 302 | 270 | 7.9 | 318 | 285 | 244 |
| West | 157 | 146 | 160 | 6.8 | 143 | 128 | 108 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 296,200 | 308,200 | 329,900 | -4.9 | 310,333 | 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
