Global| Apr 29 2013U.S. Pending Home Sales Reach a New High
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR),pending sales of single-family homes during March rose 1.5% (7.0% y/y) after a 1.0% February decline, revised from -0.4%. The latest level was the highest since April 2010. The [...]
According to the National Association of Realtors
(NAR),pending sales of single-family
homes during March rose 1.5% (7.0% y/y) after a 1.0% February decline,
revised from -0.4%. The latest level was the highest since April 2010. The
sales rebound in the aftermath of the removal in 2010 of the home buyers
tax credit has raised home sales by more than one-third from the low.
Last month's sales gain reflected mixed performance around the country. Sales in the South rose 2.7% (10.4% y/y) to a three-year high. The 1.5% rise in sales in the West, however, left them down 4.4% y/y. Sales have moved erratically sideways since early-2011. Sales in the Midwest nudged up 0.3% (13.7% y/y) to nearly the highest level of the economic expansion. In the Northeast, sales were unchanged m/m but were up a modest 6.3% versus March of last year.
Pending home sales figures are analogous to the new home sales data from the Commerce Department in that they measure existing home sales when the sales contract is signed, not at the time the sale is closed. The series dates back to 2001 and the data are available in Haver's PREALTOR database.
The Financial Crisis at the Kitchen Table: Trends in Household Debt and Credit from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is available here.
| Pending Home Sales (2001=100) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Y/Y % | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 105.7 | 104.1 | 105.2 | 7.0 | 100.3 | 90.2 | 89.1 |
| Northeast | 82.8 | 82.8 | 84.9 | 6.3 | 79.1 | 67.9 | 70.9 |
| Midwest | 103.8 | 103.5 | 103.2 | 13.7 | 95.9 | 81.5 | 79.8 |
| South | 120.0 | 116.9 | 119.2 | 10.4 | 110.7 | 98.3 | 97.0 |
| West | 102.9 | 101.4 | 101.3 | -4.4 | 105.0 | 104.1 | 100.7 |
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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