New home sales exploded in November, rising
16.9 percent from October's dismal performance to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 657,000 units. The report from the U.S Census Bureau and the Department
of Housing and Urban Development, delayed by over a month by the partial
government shutdown, was in sharp contrast to the 8.9 percent decline from
September to October with a reported 544,000 in annualized sales. The October number was also revised upward to
562,000 units.
Sales have been down on a monthly basis in
nearly every report since May, so despite the large November gains, new home
sales remain 7.7 percent lower on an annual basis. Sales in November 2017 were estimated at an
annualized 712,000 units.
The results blew analysts estimates out of
the water. Those polled by Econoday had expected numbers in the
535,000 to 581,000 range. The consensus
was for 560,000 annualized sales.
On a non-adjusted basis there were 48,000
newly constructed homes sold in November compared to 44,000 in October. Sales for the year through November totaled
583,000 units compared to 568,000 through the first 11 months of 2017.
There were an estimated 336,000 new homes
available for sale at the end of November. At the current rate of sales this is
estimated to be a 7.0-month supply, down from 7.6 months at the end of October.
Home prices declined substantially. The
median price of homes sold in November was $302,400 compared to $343,400 in
November 2017. The average price was $362,400, down from $388,500 a year
earlier.
Sales jumped by 100 percent in the Northeast
when compared to October and were up 15.0 percent year-over-year. There was
also substantial improvement in the Midwest, a 30.5 percent increase. That
region however still lags by 2.5 percent on an annual basis.
The South saw sales increase by 20.6 percent
for the month but there remained a deficit of 0.8 percent compared to the
previous November. Sales in the West dropped by 5.9 percent and are now down
25.9 percent for the year.
The new date for releasing the December
report on new home sales, also delayed by the shutdown, has not yet been announced.