Global| Aug 23 2016U.S. New Home Sales Surge While Prices Ease
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single-family homes increased 12.4% (31.3% y/y) to 654,000 (SAAR) during July from 582,000 in June, revised from 592,000. It was the highest level of sales since October 2007. Sales of 580,000 had been expected in the [...]
Sales of new single-family homes increased 12.4% (31.3% y/y) to 654,000 (SAAR) during July from 582,000 in June, revised from 592,000. It was the highest level of sales since October 2007. Sales of 580,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
The median price of a new home declined 5.1% to $294,600 (-0.5% y/y), the second sharp decline in three months. The average price of a new home improved 0.7% to $355,800 (4.1% y/y).
Last month's rise in new home sales was paced by a 40.0% recovery in the Northeast to 35,000 (25.0% y/y), which reversed nearly all of the declines in the prior two months. Sales in the South jumped 18.1% (39.6% y/y) to 398,000, the highest level since 2007. Sales in the Midwest firmed 1.2% (35.5% y/y) to 84,000, also a nine-year high. Sales in the West remained unchanged (11.4% y/y) at 137,000, down from December's peak of 153,000.
The months' supply of homes at the current sales rate dropped sharply to 4.3, the lowest level since June 2013. The median number of months a new home was on the market declined to 3.7 (NSA).
The data in this report are available in Haver's USECON database. The consensus expectation figure from the Action Economics Forecast Survey is available in the AS1REPNA database.
How Do People Revise Their Inflation Expectations? from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is available here.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Jul | Jun | May | Y/Y % | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 654 | 582 | 572 | 31.3 | 502 | 440 | 430 |
| Northeast | 35 | 25 | 32 | 25.0 | 25 | 28 | 31 |
| Midwest | 84 | 83 | 72 | 35.5 | 61 | 58 | 61 |
| South | 398 | 327 | 327 | 39.6 | 287 | 244 | 233 |
| West | 137 | 137 | 141 | 11.4 | 131 | 110 | 106 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 294,600 | 310,500 | 290,700 | -0.5 | 297,258 | 283,775 | 265,092 |
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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