Global| Sep 26 2018U.S. New Home Sales Increase As Prices Decline
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
New single-family home sales increased 3.5% (12.7% y/y) during August to 629,000 (SAAR) from 608,000 in July, revised from 627,000. June's sales level also was revised lower to 618,000 from 638,000. Sales during August were 11.7% [...]
New single-family home sales increased 3.5% (12.7% y/y) during August to 629,000 (SAAR) from 608,000 in July, revised from 627,000. June's sales level also was revised lower to 618,000 from 638,000. Sales during August were 11.7% below the high of 712,000 reached in November 2017. Expectations had been for 632,000 sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Sales are calculated when contracts are closed and are tabulated by the National Association of Realtors.
The median price of a new home declined 2.4% to $320,200 (+1.9% y/y) from a little-revised $328,100. The average price of a new home eased slightly to $388,400 (+5.2% y/y).
New home sales moved higher m/m in most of the country. Home sales in the Northeast rebounded 47.8% (-2.9% y/y) to 34,000 after a sharp July decline. New home sales in the West gained 9.1% (19.1%) to 168,000, a five-month high. In the Midwest, sales rose 2.7% in August (13.2% y/y) to 77,000, though they remained 12.5% below the high four months earlier. Working the other way last month were sales in the South. They fell 1.7% (+11.5% y/y) as they reversed July's increase.
The months' supply of homes on the market eased to 6.1, though that remained up from the low of 4.5 months in July 2016. The median number of months a new home was on the market fell to 2.8 and equaled the recovery low.
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) | Aug | Jul | Jun | Aug Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 629 | 608 | 618 | 12.7 | 616 | 560 | 502 |
| Northeast | 34 | 23 | 43 | -2.9 | 40 | 32 | 25 |
| Midwest | 77 | 75 | 71 | 13.2 | 72 | 69 | 61 |
| South | 350 | 356 | 350 | 11.5 | 341 | 317 | 286 |
| West | 168 | 154 | 154 | 19.1 | 164 | 142 | 130 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 320,200 | 328,100 | 309,500 | 1.9 | 321,633 | 306,500 | 293,733 |
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.
