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- ** New Zealand's jobs online report has been delayed by the source, MBIE, until 6:00 PM ET 4/26.**
- New Zealand: Foreign Currency Assets & Liabilities & Currency Flows (Mar); Australia: Labor Force Survey (Mar), Import/Export Price Indexes, SME Business Survey (Q1), Cash Flow Statements, Government Finance Statistics (2017)
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Economy in Brief
Japan Shows Very Moderate Growth As Trade War Clouds Gather
Japan’s sector indexes showed a solid gain in February...
U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Rose in April
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose to 128.7 in April from 127.0 (initially reported as 127.7) in March...
U.S. New Home Sales and Prices Strengthen
Sales of new single-family homes during March increased 4.0% (8.8% y/y) to 694,000 (SAAR)...
U.S. FHFA House Price Index Continues to Strengthen
The FHFA index of U.S. house prices rose 0.6% during February...
U.S. Energy Prices Rise Further
Retail gasoline prices increased to $2.80 per gallon last week (14.3% y/y)...
by Tom Moeller March 21, 2018
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes increased 3.0% during February (1.1% y/y) to 5.540 million (AR) from an unrevised 5.380 million in January. Expectations were for 5.41 million sales in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
The median price of all existing homes sold rose to $241,700 (5.9% y/y) from $240,800. The average sales price eased to $281,200 (+4.3% y/y).
Sales of existing single-family homes improved 4.2% last month (1.8% y/y) to 4.960 million units. Sales of co-ops and condos declined 6.5% (-4.9% y/y) to 580,000, the lowest level since November 2015.
The number of homes on the market declined 8.1% y/y. The supply of homes held steady at 3.4 months and remained near the record low.
By region, total existing home sales in the West increased 11.4% (2.4% y/y) to 1.270 million units. In the South, sales improved 6.6% (3.4% y/y) to 2.410 million units. Working lower were sales in the Northeast, off 12.3% (-7.2% y/y) to 640,000 units. Home sales in the Midwest fell 2.4% (unchanged y/y) to 1.220 million units.
The data on existing home sales, prices and affordability are compiled by the National Association of Realtors and can be found in Haver's USECON database. The regional price, affordability and inventory data are available in the REALTOR database. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey, reported in the AS1REPNA database.
Existing Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 5,540 | 5,380 | 5,560 | 1.1 | 5,536 | 5,441 | 5,228 |
Northeast | 640 | 730 | 740 | -7.2 | 737 | 735 | 684 |
Midwest | 1,220 | 1,250 | 1,330 | 0.0 | 1,304 | 1,298 | 1,231 |
South | 2,410 | 2,260 | 2,290 | 3.4 | 2,270 | 2,217 | 2,147 |
West | 1,270 | 1,140 | 1,200 | 2.4 | 1,225 | 1,192 | 1,167 |
Single-Family | 4,960 | 4,760 | 4,950 | 1.8 | 4,910 | 4,825 | 4,623 |
Median Price Total ($, NSA) | 241,700 | 240,800 | 246,500 | 5.9 | 245,950 | 232,067 | 219,867 |