Global| Oct 04 2007U.S. Pending Home Sales Collapse
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
In yet another sign of weakness in the U.S. housing market, the National Association of Realtors indicated that the August level of pending home sales fell 6.5% from July and 21.5% from one year earlier. The latest monthly figure is [...]
In yet another sign of weakness in the U.S. housing market, the National Association of Realtors indicated that the August level of pending home sales fell 6.5% from July and 21.5% from one year earlier.
The latest monthly figure is 31.2% below the peak average level during 2005. The data date back only to 2001. These are home sales under contract but not yet closed.
In further confirmation of the slow rate of home sales, the Realtors indicated in an earlier report that the number of homes on the market and available for sale rose slightly in August to a level 19.2% above the year earlier level.
In the Western part of the nation, the down trend in pending home sales is most severe with a 27.1% drop.
Despite that relative severity out West, the drop in pending home sales is large and pervasive. In the Northeast, pending home sales are down 19.3%. That decline compares to an 18.0% decline in the Midwest and a 21.3% drop in the South.
The pending home sales data are available in Haver's PREALTOR database and the number of homes on the market are in the REALTOR database.
Whose part is it? Measuring domestic content of vehicles from the Federal Reserve bank of Chicago is available here.
| Pending Home Sales (2001=100) | August | July | Y/Y | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 85.5 | 91.4 | -21.5% | 112.1 | 124.2 | 120.5 |
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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