Global| Jan 26 2017U.S. New Home Sales Decline in December, Reaching Nine-Year High in 2016
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of new single-family homes declined 10.4% to 536,000 during December from a revised 598,000 in November, initially reported as 592,000. Sales of 589,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During December, [...]
Sales of new single-family homes declined 10.4% to 536,000 during December from a revised 598,000 in November, initially reported as 592,000. Sales of 589,000 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. During December, sales remained unchanged y/y, but for all of 2016, sales rose 12.2% y/y to 562,000, the highest level since 2007.
The median price of a new home increased 4.3% (7.9% y/y) to $322,500 from $309,200, revised from $305,400. The average price of a new home jumped 5.1% (7.2% y/y) to $384,000 following a 7.4% increase in November.
Last month's decline in new home sales was led by a 41.0% fall (-40.0% y/y) in sales in the Midwest to 49,000. In the South, sales fell 12.6% (0.0% y/y) to 285,000. Home sales in the West eased 1.3% (0.0% y/y) to 156,000, but in the Northeast sales increased 48.4% (50.0% y/y) to 46,000.
The months' supply of homes at the current sales rate jumped to 5.8, the highest level since September 2015. The median number of months a new home was on the market held steady at 3.2 (NSA), and was down from 4.1 months in April.
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) | Dec | Nov | Oct | Dec Y/Y % | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 536 | 598 | 571 | 0.0 | 562 | 501 | 439 |
| Northeast | 46 | 31 | 35 | 50.0 | 34 | 24 | 28 |
| Midwest | 49 | 83 | 68 | -40.0 | 67 | 61 | 60 |
| South | 285 | 326 | 329 | 0.0 | 318 | 285 | 244 |
| West | 156 | 158 | 139 | 0.0 | 142 | 128 | 108 |
| Median Price (NSA, $) | 322,500 | 309,200 | 301,800 | 7.9 | 308,942 | 297,258 | 283,775 |
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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