Updated: 26-Sep-17 10:44 ET
| August New Home Sales |
 |
|
| Updated: 26-Sep-17 10:44 ET |
Highlights
- New home sales decreased 3.4% month-over-month in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 (Briefing.com consensus 577,000). New home sales for July were revised up to 580,000 from 571,000.
Key Factors
- Sales decreased 4.7% in the South, 2.7% in the West, and 2.6% in the Northeast. Sales were flat in the Midwest.
- The median sales price for a new home increased 0.4% year-over-year to $300,200
- The available inventory of new homes for sale at the end of August represented a supply of 6.1 months at the current sales rate versus 5.7 months in July, suggesting the new home market has a more balanced supply-demand situation than the existing home market where the available inventory at the end of August stood at a 4.2-months' supply
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report isn't that sales declined 4.7% in the South, which was partly impacted by Hurricane Harvey, but that sales declined 2.7% in the West, which wasn't impacted by Hurricane Harvey, after declining 15.3% in July.The weakness in the West could be a function of constraints related to high prices, yet it will need to be watched closely as a potential harbinger of a broader slowdown in the housing market related to affordability constraints.
| Category | AUG | JUL | JUN | MAY | APR |
| Total Sales | 560K | 580K | 614K | 606K | 590K |
| Inventory (months) | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| Median Price Y/Y | 0.4% | 8.4% | -1.6% | 9.3% | -3.2% |