Global| May 23 2017U.S. New Home Sales & Prices Fall Back
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single-family homes declined 11.4% (+0.5% y/y) during April to 569,000 (AR) from 642,000 in March, revised from 621,000. Earlier figures were revised higher. Expectations had been for 612,000 sales in the Action Economics [...]
Sales of new single-family homes declined 11.4% (+0.5% y/y) during April to 569,000 (AR) from 642,000 in March, revised from 621,000. Earlier figures were revised higher. Expectations had been for 612,000 sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
The median price of a new home declined 3.0% (-3.8% y/y) to $309,200 versus an upwardly revised $318,700. Prices have moved erratically sideways since late-2015. The average price of a new home declined 4.4% (-3.1% y/y) to $368,300.
The decline in home sales was led by a 26.3% drop (-13.7% y/y) in the Western region to 126,000, the lowest level since October 2015. In the Midwest, sales declined 13.1% (+19.7% y/y) to 73,000, the lowest point in three months. Sales in Northeast declined 7.5% (-5.1% y/y) to 37,000 following a 14.3% rise. In the South sales were off 4.0% (+4.1% y/y) to 333,000 and reversed most of the March gain.
The months' supply of homes at the current sales rate rebounded sharply last month to 5.7, the highest point since September 2015. The median number of months a new home was on the market increased to 3.7 (NSA), the highest level since last June.
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) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y % | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 569 | 642 | 607 | 0.5 | 561 | 503 | 440 |
| Northeast | 37 | 40 | 35 | -5.1 | 32 | 25 | 28 |
| Midwest | 73 | 84 | 88 | 19.7 | 69 | 61 | 58 |
| South | 333 | 347 | 331 | 4.1 | 317 | 286 | 244 |
| West | 126 | 171 | 153 | -13.7 | 142 | 130 | 110 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 309,200 | 318,700 | 299,200 | -3.8 | 310,567 | 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.
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