Global| Apr 23 2021U.S. New Home Sales Surge in March
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• Sales rebound from weather-depressed February. • Gains spread throughout most of country. • Median home prices decline. New home sales surged last month to the highest level since August 2006. Sales of new single-family homes surged [...]
• Sales rebound from weather-depressed February.
• Gains spread throughout most of country.
• Median home prices decline.
New home sales surged last month to the highest level since August 2006. Sales of new single-family homes surged 20.7% (66.8% y/y) to 1.021 million units (SAAR) during March after declining 16.2% to 846,000 in February, revised from 775,000 units. January sales were revised to 1,010 million units from 948,000. Earlier figures also were revised. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 885,000 sales in March.
Sales in the South jumped 40.2% (90.1% y/y) to 694,000 after falling 14.7% in February. In the Midwest, sales improved 30.7% (78.4% y/y) to 132,000 and reversed their 28.9% February drop. Sales in Northeast gained 20.0% (108.7% y/y) after an 18.4% fall during February. Declining were new home sales in the West by roughly one-third (-2.0% y/y) to 147,000 after weakening 12.1% during February.
The median price of a new home fell 4.4% (+0.8% y/y) in March to $330,800, the third consecutive monthly decline. Working 0.9% higher (6.0% y/y) to $397,800 was the average price of a new home, following a 4.3% February drop. These prices are not seasonally adjusted.
The supply of new homes for sale fell to 3.6 months in March and reversed the rise to 4.4 months in February. This equaled the Q3'20 low which was the lowest figure since March 2004. The median number of months a new home stayed on the market after completion held steady at 3.6, after surging to 4.5 months in both August and September of last year. The figure has been trending sideways since 2013.
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) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar Y/Y % | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,021 | 846 | 1,010 | 66.8 | 825 | 685 | 614 |
| Northeast | 48 | 40 | 49 | 108.7 | 37 | 30 | 32 |
| Midwest | 132 | 101 | 142 | 78.4 | 94 | 72 | 75 |
| South | 694 | 495 | 580 | 90.1 | 474 | 400 | 347 |
| West | 147 | 210 | 239 | -2.0 | 220 | 183 | 160 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 330,800 | 345,900 | 362,200 | 0.8 | 334,992 | 319,267 | 323,125 |
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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