Global| Jan 25 2012U.S. Pending Home Sales Stutter
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
A one-month drop belies a firming trend. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that December pending sales of single-family homes fell 3.5% (+5.6% y/y) following two months of strong increase. Sales rose 7.3% in November [...]
A one-month drop belies a firming trend. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that December pending sales of single-family homes fell 3.5% (+5.6% y/y) following two months of strong increase. Sales rose 7.3% in November and by 10.4% during October. The index level of 96.6 (2001=100) remained nearly the highest since April of last year.
The decline in sales last month occurred in most regions of the country led by an 11.0% decline in the West. That mostly reversed November's strength. Sales in the Northeast fell a lesser 3.1% while sales in the South fell 2.6%. Bucking the downturn was the Midwest with a 4.0% increase. This latest was the third gain in as many months and pulled sales to their highest since April, 2010.
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.
Rehypothecation from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is available here.
| Pending Home Sales (2001=100) | Dec | Nov | Oct | Y/Y % | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 96.6 | 100.1 | 93.3 | 5.6 | 90.5 | 89.4 | 94.5 |
| Northeast | 74.7 | 77.1 | 71.3 | -0.8 | 88.3 | 71.6 | 76.6 |
| Midwest | 95.3 | 91.6 | 88.7 | 13.3 | 81.8 | 80.3 | 88.6 |
| South | 101.1 | 103.8 | 99.5 | 4.9 | 98.4 | 97.0 | 98.0 |
| West | 107.9 | 121.2 | 105.5 | 3.7 | 104.4 | 100.8 | 109.3 |
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.
