Global| Jul 26 2017U.S. New Home Sales Rise as Prices Fall Sharply
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single-family homes improved 0.8% to 610,000 during June following a 4.9% May increase to 605,000, revised from 610,000. Despite the rise, sales were 4.4% below the March peak. Expectations had been for 615,000 sales in [...]
Sales of new single-family homes improved 0.8% to 610,000 during June following a 4.9% May increase to 605,000, revised from 610,000. Despite the rise, sales were 4.4% below the March peak. Expectations had been for 615,000 sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
The median price of a new home declined 4.2% (-3.4% y/y) to $310,800. May's median price was revised down sharply to $324,300. The average price of a new home eased 0.5% (+4.2% y/y) to $379,500.
Last month's gain in home sales was led by a 12.5% (33.3% y/y) rise to 180,000 in the West, which followed an 11.9% gain. In the Midwest. home sales increased 10.0% (-12.0% y/y) to 66,000 following three months of decline. Home sales in the Northeast held steady at 41,000 (41.4% y/y) after a 7.9% increase. To the downside were sales in the South which fell 6.1% (+0.9% y/y) to 323,000 after a 6.8% rise.
The months' supply of homes at the current sales rate inched up last month to 5.4, but remained down from December's high of 5.6 months. The median number of months a new home was on the market fell to 3.0 (NSA), down from 3.6 months in March.
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) | Jun | May | Apr | Jun Y/Y % | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 610 | 605 | 577 | 9.1 | 561 | 503 | 440 |
| Northeast | 41 | 41 | 38 | 41.4 | 32 | 25 | 28 |
| Midwest | 66 | 60 | 74 | -12.0 | 69 | 61 | 58 |
| South | 323 | 344 | 322 | 0.9 | 317 | 286 | 244 |
| West | 180 | 160 | 143 | 33.3 | 142 | 130 | 110 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 310,800 | 324,300 | 309,500 | -3.4 | 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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