Global| Jun 24 2014U.S. New Home Sales Rise to Six-Year High as Prices Improve
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
New home sales during May increased 18.6% m/m (16.9% y/y) to 504,000 from 425,000 during April, initially reported as 433,000. The latest was the highest level of sales since May 2008 and beat expectations for 440,000 sales in the [...]
New home sales during May increased 18.6% m/m (16.9% y/y) to 504,000 from 425,000 during April, initially reported as 433,000. The latest was the highest level of sales since May 2008 and beat expectations for 440,000 sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. These volume numbers are quoted at seasonally adjusted annual rates.
The median price for a new home increased 4.6% (6.9% y/y) to $282,000 and recovered most of its deepened April decline. The latest level nearly reached the record high. The average price of a new home slipped 0.5% (+1.7% y/y) to $319,200 following a deepened 3.9% April decline. It was the lowest price level in nine months.
Sales improvement in May was broad-based. The largest gain was in the Northeast where sales increased roughly one-half m/m to 34,000 (36.0% y/y). Sales in the West improved by roughly one-quarter (32.7% y/y) to 130,000. In the South sales gained 14.2% (11.8% y/y) to 266,000 while sales in the Midwest edged 1.4% higher (5.7% y/y) to 74,000.
The inventory of unsold homes ticked 0.5% higher (16.0%) to the highest level since December 2010. The months' sales supply of new homes dropped to 4.5 months, its least in eleven months. The length of time to sell a new home held steady m/m at 3.3 months, down from 14.0 months at the end of 2009.
The data in this report are available in Haver's USECON database. The consensus expectation figure is from the Action Economics survey and is available in the AS1REPNA database.
Economy to move down the road at a solid pace in 2014 and accelerate slightly in 2015 from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago can be found here.
| U.S. New Home Sales | May | Apr | Mar | Y/Y % | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total SAAR, 000s | 504 | 425 | 410 | 16.9 | 430 | 368 | 306 |
| Northeast | 34 | 22 | 27 | 36.0 | 31 | 29 | 21 |
| Midwest | 74 | 73 | 56 | 5.7 | 61 | 47 | 45 |
| South | 266 | 233 | 235 | 11.8 | 233 | 196 | 168 |
| West | 130 | 97 | 92 | 32.7 | 106 | 97 | 72 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 282,000 | 269,700 | 285,400 | 6.9 | 265,092 | 242,108 | 224,317 |
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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