Global| Sep 24 2020U.S. New Home Sales Strengthen Unexpectedly in August, But Prices Ease
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• New single-family home sales increased to highest level since September 2006. • Sales improvement varied m/m across the country. • Prices weakened notably. Sales of new single-family homes increased 4.8% during August (43.2% y/y) to [...]
• New single-family home sales increased to highest level since September 2006.
• Sales improvement varied m/m across the country.
• Prices weakened notably.
Sales of new single-family homes increased 4.8% during August (43.2% y/y) to 1.011 million (SAAR) from 965,000 in July, revised from 901,000. Sales also increased sharply in June to 841,000, revised from 791,000. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a decline in sales to 893,000.
Purchases of new homes were mixed across the country. The South led the strength with a 13.4% jump (50.0% y/y) to 636,000, the highest sales level since December 2005. Sales in the Northeast rose 5.0% to 42,000 (27.3% y/y), though that remained below the June high of 53,000. Elsewhere in the country, sales eased m/m. In the Midwest, sales fell 21.4% to 99,000 (+54.7% y/y), although that reversed only part of July's 59.5% rise. Sales in the West slipped 1.7% to 234,000 (+26.5% y/y) and remained just below the January high.
The median price of a new home eased 4.6% (-4.3% y/y) to $312,800 in August. The average price of a new home slipped 0.8% (-6.0% y/y) to $369,000 in July. These prices are not seasonally adjusted.
The months' supply of new homes on the market plunged again in August to 3.3 months, down from the April high of 6.8 months. The median number of months a new home stayed on the market edged up m/m to 4.2 months in August, up from 3.2 months twelve months earlier.
New home sales activity and prices 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) | Aug | Jul | Jun | Aug Y/Y % | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,011 | 965 | 841 | 43.2 | 685 | 614 | 616 |
| Northeast | 42 | 40 | 53 | 27.3 | 30 | 32 | 40 |
| Midwest | 99 | 126 | 79 | 54.7 | 72 | 75 | 72 |
| South | 636 | 561 | 495 | 50.0 | 400 | 347 | 341 |
| West | 234 | 238 | 214 | 26.5 | 183 | 160 | 164 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 312,800 | 327,800 | 337,700 | -4.3 | 319,267 | 323,125 | 321,633 |
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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