Global| Jun 29 2011U.S. Pending Home Sales Recover Somewhat
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending sales of existing single-family homes rose 8.2% last month after a little-revised 11.3% April decline. Despite the monthly improvement sales this quarter remained down [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending sales
of existing single-family homes rose 8.2% last month after a
little-revised 11.3% April decline. Despite the monthly improvement sales
this quarter remained down 5.4% versus Q1. The m/m May improvement was
sharpest in the West where sales rose 12.9%. In the Midwest sales rose
10.5%, and gained 7.3% in the Northeast and 4.1% in the South.
The Realtors' Association reported early this month that housing affordability slipped during April but remained up 8.5% y/y. Subsequently, it was reported that the median sales price of an existing home in May rose 3.4% (-4.6% y/y), perhaps reducing affordability again slightly.
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 is available in Haver's PREALTOR database. The home affordability figures are available in the REALTOR database.
| Pending Home Sales (2001=100) | May | Apr | Mar | Y/Y % | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 88.8 | 82.1 | 92.6 | 13.4 | 89.4 | 94.5 | 87.0 |
| Northeast | 69.2 | 64.5 | 63.4 | 4.4 | 71.6 | 76.6 | 73.5 |
| Midwest | 82.8 | 74.9 | 82.7 | 17.3 | 80.3 | 88.6 | 81.1 |
| South | 95.0 | 91.3 | 110.3 | 14.6 | 97.0 | 98.0 | 89.8 |
| West | 100.6 | 89.1 | 97.8 | 13.5 | 100.8 | 109.3 | 99.4 |
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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