Global| Jul 26 2010U.S. New Home Sales Nudge Higher From Their Record Low
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Any real improvement in housing has yet to show itself. The Census Department indicated that new home sales last month rose 23.6% from May to 330,000. However, the rise followed a sharper May decline following the end to the Federal [...]
Any real improvement in housing has yet to show itself. The Census Department
indicated that new home sales last month rose 23.6% from May to 330,000.
However, the rise followed a sharper May decline following the end to the
Federal government's $8,000 home-buyer tax credit. Moreover, sales levels during
May & April were revised lower and June was the series' second lowest since
the tally began in 1963. The latest level roughly matched Consensus expectations
for 315,000 sales.
Along with the decline in sales last month came a lower median home price. The 1.4% m/m decline to $213,400 followed May's strengthened 5.1% increase but it still left prices below those of earlier this year. The average price of a new home also fell sharply to $242,900 (-11.6% y/y), the lowest since 2003.
At the current sales rate, the months' supply of unsold homes fell to 7.6 from from an upwardly revised 9.6 in May. The latest remained well below the 2009 high of 12.1 months. It took a somewhat reduced 12.4 months to sell a new home.
The data in this report are available in Haver's USECON database
| US New Homes | June | May | April | Y/Y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sales (SAAR, 000s) | 330 | 267 | 422 | -16.7% | 372 | 481 | 769 |
| Northeast | 41 | 28 | 36 | 17.1 | 32 | 35 | 64 |
| Midwest | 47 | 39 | 60 | -20.3 | 54 | 69 | 118 |
| South | 185 | 139 | 217 | -6.1 | 201 | 264 | 409 |
| West | 57 | 61 | 109 | -45.7 | 87 | 113 | 178 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 213,400 | 216,400 | 205,900 | -0.6% | 214,500 | 230,408 | 243,742 |
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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