Newsroom
July 26, 2012
New-home sales cloud state of housing
July 26, 2012 – June's new-home sales report provides yet more mixed signals about the state of the housing market, with a sudden monthly sales decline following a two-year high the previous month.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday that new-home sales in June fell 8.4 percent from 382,000 units to 350,000 units, annualized. NAFCU Staff Economist Curt Long said the decline was unexpected, but pointed out that new-home sales remain on an upward trajectory, June's data notwithstanding.
Case in point: June's disappointing monthly numbers were accompanied by an upward revision to May, which saw sales come in 4 percent higher to 382,000 units, annualized.
June's monthly new-home sales decline broke down unevenly across the U.S. Sales rose in the Midwest (14.6 percent) and the West (2.1 percent) but fell in the Northeast (-60 percent) and the South (-8.6 percent). Long said the Northeast sales decline "is even more dramatic when you consider that the region had seen sales more than double over the past six months, prior to June's data."
On a year-over-year basis, new-home sales were up 15.1 percent in June, and up in three of the four housing regions. Sales grew substantially from last year in the West (36.1 percent), followed by the Midwest (19.6 percent) and the South (6.5 percent). Sales in the Northeast were unchanged in June from a year ago.
Supply remained extremely tight in June, even as inventory ticked up for the first time since 2007. The months of available inventory increased from 4.5 months of supply to 4.9 months. The median new home price, non-seasonally adjusted, fell 1.9 percent.
Looking ahead, Long cautioned that the mild recovery in the new-home market will be difficult to sustain in the face of dwindling job creation and the overhang of distressed homes on the existing-home market. "The latter should keep prices on new-homes down, but it will also mean there is no shortage of competition to attract would-be homeowners looking for a good deal."
For more, view NAFCU's Macro Data Flash.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday that new-home sales in June fell 8.4 percent from 382,000 units to 350,000 units, annualized. NAFCU Staff Economist Curt Long said the decline was unexpected, but pointed out that new-home sales remain on an upward trajectory, June's data notwithstanding.
Case in point: June's disappointing monthly numbers were accompanied by an upward revision to May, which saw sales come in 4 percent higher to 382,000 units, annualized.
June's monthly new-home sales decline broke down unevenly across the U.S. Sales rose in the Midwest (14.6 percent) and the West (2.1 percent) but fell in the Northeast (-60 percent) and the South (-8.6 percent). Long said the Northeast sales decline "is even more dramatic when you consider that the region had seen sales more than double over the past six months, prior to June's data."
On a year-over-year basis, new-home sales were up 15.1 percent in June, and up in three of the four housing regions. Sales grew substantially from last year in the West (36.1 percent), followed by the Midwest (19.6 percent) and the South (6.5 percent). Sales in the Northeast were unchanged in June from a year ago.
Supply remained extremely tight in June, even as inventory ticked up for the first time since 2007. The months of available inventory increased from 4.5 months of supply to 4.9 months. The median new home price, non-seasonally adjusted, fell 1.9 percent.
Looking ahead, Long cautioned that the mild recovery in the new-home market will be difficult to sustain in the face of dwindling job creation and the overhang of distressed homes on the existing-home market. "The latter should keep prices on new-homes down, but it will also mean there is no shortage of competition to attract would-be homeowners looking for a good deal."
For more, view NAFCU's Macro Data Flash.
Share This
Related Resources
Add to Calendar 2024-06-26 14:00:00 2024-06-26 14:00:00 Gallagher Executive Compensation and Benefits Survey About the Webinar The webinar will share trends in executive pay increases, annual bonuses, and nonqualified benefit plans. Learn how to use the data charts as well as make this data actionable in order to improve your retention strategy. You’ll hear directly from the survey project manager on how to maximize the data points to gain a competitive edge in the market. Key findings on: Total compensation by asset size Nonqualified benefit plans Bonus targets and metrics Prerequisites Demographics Board expenses Watch On-Demand Web NAFCU digital@nafcu.org America/New_York public
Gallagher Executive Compensation and Benefits Survey
preferred partner
Gallagher
Webinar
Add to Calendar 2024-06-21 09:00:00 2024-06-21 09:00:00 2024 Mid-Year Fraud Review Listen On: Key Takeaways: [01:16] Check fraud continues to be rampant across the country. Card fraud is affecting everyone. [04:31] Counterfeit US passport cards are just another new toolbox in the bad actors’ toolbox. [07:21] Blocking the fallback is the only way to defeat counterfeit cards. [11:17] The best way is constant education to your members in as many channels as you can. [13:02] We are still seeing overdraft lawsuits. Make sure the programming you have at your credit union matches what you have displayed for the members. Web NAFCU digital@nafcu.org America/New_York public
2024 Mid-Year Fraud Review
Strategy & Growth, Consumer Lending
preferred partner
Allied Solutions
Podcast
Add to Calendar 2024-06-21 09:00:00 2024-06-21 09:00:00 The Evolving Role of the CISO in Credit Unions Listen On: Key Takeaways: [01:30] Being able to properly implement risk management decisions, especially in the cyber age we live in, is incredibly important so CISOs have a lot of challenges here. [02:27] Having a leader who can really communicate cyber risks and understand how ready that institution is to deal with cyber events is incredibly important. [05:36] We need to be talking about risk openly. We need to be documenting and really understanding what remediating risk looks like and how you do that strategically. [16:38] Governance, risk, compliance, and adherence to regulatory controls are all being looked at much more closely. You are also seeing other technology that is coming into the fold directly responsible for helping CISOs navigate those waters. [18:28] The reaction from the governing bodies is directly related to the needs of the position. They’re trying to help make sure that we are positioned in a way that gets us the most possibility of success, maturing our postures and protecting the institutions. Web NAFCU digital@nafcu.org America/New_York public
The Evolving Role of the CISO in Credit Unions
preferred partner
DefenseStorm
Podcast
AI in Action: Redefining Disaster Preparedness and Financial Security
Strategy
preferred partner
Allied Solutions
Blog Post
Get daily updates.
Subscribe to NAFCU today.