Global| Apr 24 2008U.S. New Home Sales & Prices Drop
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
During March, new single family home sales fell 8.5%. The decline to 526,000 followed a 5.3% drop during February that was revised deeper from the initial report. A March sales level of 585,000 had been expected. The latest level of [...]
During March, new single family home sales fell 8.5%. The
decline to 526,000 followed a 5.3% drop during February that was
revised deeper from the initial report. A March sales level of 585,000
had been expected. The latest level of sales was the lowest since 1991.
By region, double digit month-to-month declines were logged in the Northeast (-64.6% y/y), in the Midwest (-50.0% Y/Y) and in the West (-39.3% y/y). In the South new home sales fell by a lesser 4.6% m/m (-25.9% y/y).
The median price for a new single family home fell 6.8% to $227,600 and reduced prices to near their lowest since 2004.
The number of new homes for sale fell 1.1% last month (-14.6% y/y). That inventory was down 18.3% from the peak in mid-2006.
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| US New Homes | March | February | Y/Y | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sales (SAAR, 000s) | 526 | 575 | -36.6% | 773 | 1,049 | 1,279 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 227,600 | 244,200 | -13.3% | 243,500 | 243,067 | 234,208 |
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.
