Global| Feb 24 2016U.S. New Home Sales & Prices Decline
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single-family homes declined 9.2% during January (-5.2% y/y) to 494,000 (SAAR) and reversed December's 8.2% increase to an unrevised 544,000. December sales were biased by new closing procedures which shifted sales out of [...]
Sales of new single-family homes declined 9.2% during January (-5.2% y/y) to 494,000 (SAAR) and reversed December's 8.2% increase to an unrevised 544,000. December sales were biased by new closing procedures which shifted sales out of November. Sales of 520,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
The median price of a new home declined 5.7% (-4.5% y/y) to $278,800 versus December. The average sales price increased 5.2% m/m to $365,700 (2.7% y/y).
By region, there was considerable variation in sales m/m. Home sales in the Northeast increased 3.4% and doubled y/y to 30,000. In the South, sales gained 1.8% (-2.0% y/y) to 290,000. Moving lower by 5.9% to 64,000 (-1.5% y/y) were sales in the Midwest while sales in the West fell by nearly one-third m/m (-24.1% y/y) to 110,000.
The inventory of unsold homes increased 14.4% y/y and there was a 5.8 months supply at the current sales rate. That figure was up from a recent low of 4.0 months in January 2013. The number of months a new home was on the market remained near the record low at 3.4 months.
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.
Recent Monetary Policy Developments is the title of yesterday's speech by Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer and it is available here.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Y/Y %, SA | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 494 | 544 | 503 | -5.2 | 503 | 440 | 430 |
| Northeast | 30 | 29 | 25 | 100.0 | 24 | 28 | 31 |
| Midwest | 64 | 68 | 61 | -1.5 | 61 | 58 | 61 |
| South | 290 | 285 | 275 | -2.0 | 287 | 244 | 233 |
| West | 110 | 162 | 142 | -24.1 | 131 | 110 | 106 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 278,800 | 295,800 | 304,300 | -4.5 | 294,575 | 283,775 | 265,092 |
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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