Global| Mar 29 2019U.S. New Home Sales and Prices Improve
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The housing market has been exhibiting strength recently. New home sales increased 4.9% (0.6% y/y) during February to 667,000 (SAAR) from 636,000 in January, revised from 607,000. December sales also were revised up. It was the [...]
The housing market has been exhibiting strength recently. New home sales increased 4.9% (0.6% y/y) during February to 667,000 (SAAR) from 636,000 in January, revised from 607,000. December sales also were revised up. It was the highest level of sales since last March. February sales of 617,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. These sales transactions are recorded when sales contracts are signed or deposits are made.
The median price of a new home increased 3.8% (-3.6% y/y) to $315,300 from 303,900 during January, revised from $317,200. The average price of a new home rebounded 6.0% (1.6% y/y to $379,600 and recovered January's decline.
By region, sales patterns remained mixed. Purchases in the Northeast surged by roughly one-quarter to 33,000 (-28.3% y/y), while sales in the Midwest also strengthened by roughly one-quarter to 77,000 (-3.7% y/y). New home sales in the South improved 1.8% to 391,000 (6.8% y/y), the highest level since July 2007. In the West, sales held steady m/m at 166,000 (-2.9% y/y), the highest level since July of last year.
With the improvement in sales, the months' supply of homes on the market declined to 6.1 in February, the lowest level since June. It took longer, however, to sell a new home. The median number of months a new home was on the market after its completion increased to 3.8 months, the most since April.
The data in this report are available in Haver's USECON database. The consensus expectation figure from Action Economics is available in the AS1REPNA database.
| U.S. New Single-Family Home Sales (SAAR, 000s) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 667 | 636 | 588 | 0.6 | 620 | 616 | 560 |
| Northeast | 33 | 26 | 30 | -28.3 | 33 | 40 | 32 |
| Midwest | 77 | 60 | 63 | -3.7 | 76 | 72 | 69 |
| South | 391 | 384 | 363 | 6.8 | 350 | 341 | 317 |
| West | 166 | 166 | 132 | -2.9 | 161 | 164 | 142 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 315,300 | 303,900 | 322,800 | -3.6 | 322,550 | 321,633 | 306,500 |
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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