Global| May 26 2010U.S. New Home Sales Soar With Pending Tax Credit Expiration
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The April end to the Federal government's $8,000 home-buyer tax credit, like in March, caused new home sales to surge. New home sales jumped 14.8% m/m to 504,000 following the upwardly revised 29.9% advance during March. The latest [...]
The April end to the Federal government's $8,000 home-buyer tax credit, like in March, caused new home sales to surge. New home sales jumped 14.8% m/m to 504,000 following the upwardly revised 29.9% advance during March. The latest level was the highest since May 2008. The latest sales level greatly exceeded Consensus expectations for 425,000 sales.
Price discounts likely helped sales during April. The median home price fell nearly 10% m/m for a 9.5% y/y decline. Firmer sales & lower prices have been quite successful in lowering the number of homes on the market to the lowest level in forty years.
At the current sales rate, the months' supply of unsold homes dropped to 5.0 from its 2009 high of 12.1 months. However, despite all this improvement, it still took a near-record median 14.3 months to sell a new home in April.
Central Bank Independence, Transparency, and Accountability is today's speech by Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and it can be found here.
| US New Homes | April | March | February | Y/Y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sales (SAAR, 000s) | 504 | 439 | 338 | 47.8% | 372 | 481 | 769 |
| Northeast | 39 | 39 | 31 | 85.7 | 31 | 35 | 64 |
| Midwest | 75 | 57 | 49 | 87.5 | 54 | 69 | 118 |
| South | 278 | 251 | 170 | 38.3 | 201 | 264 | 409 |
| West | 112 | 92 | 88 | 41.8 | 87 | 113 | 178 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | $198,400 | $219,600 | $219,700 | -9.5 | 214,500 | 230,408 | 243,742 |
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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