Global| Dec 23 2015U.S. New Home Sales and Prices Improve
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single-family homes increased 4.3% during November to 490,000 from 470,000 in October, revised from 495,000. The gain left sales up 9.1% y/y but down 10.1% since the February high. Sales of 505,000 had been expected in [...]
Sales of new single-family homes increased 4.3% during November to 490,000 from 470,000 in October, revised from 495,000. The gain left sales up 9.1% y/y but down 10.1% since the February high. Sales of 505,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The rise contrasts to yesterday's report of a 10.5% decline in existing single-family home sales.
The median price of a new home increased 6.3% from October and rose 0.8% y/y. The average sales price gained 4.7% m/m, off 4.5% y/y.
Home sales in the West increased 20.5% to 135,000, the highest level since March. Sales in the South also were firm, rising 4.5% to 277,000. In the Northeast, sales declined 28.6% to 25,000. Home sales in the Midwest fell 8.6% to 53,000.
The inventory of unsold homes increased 10.5% y/y and there was 5.7 months supply at the current sales rate. That figure was up from 4.0 months in January 2013. The number of months a new home was for sale remained near the record low at 3.0 months.
The data in this report are available in Haver's USECON database. The consensus expectation figure from the Action Economics Forecast Survey is available in the AS1REPNA database.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Nov | Oct | Sep | Y/Y %, SA | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 490 | 470 | 442 | 9.1 | 440 | 430 | 368 |
| Northeast | 25 | 35 | 19 | -13.8 | 28 | 31 | 29 |
| Midwest | 53 | 58 | 57 | -10.2 | 58 | 61 | 47 |
| South | 277 | 265 | 258 | 19.4 | 244 | 233 | 195 |
| West | 135 | 112 | 108 | 4.7 | 110 | 106 | 97 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 305,000 | 286,900 | 310,400 | 0.8 | 283,775 | 265,092 | 242,108 |
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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