|
April Upward New Home Sales Blip ‘Not Much to Celebrate’
Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 3.3% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 units, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on May 27, following downward revisions in sales for each of the previous three months, including a particularly large revision for March.
"The fact that new-home sales are up slightly from a dismal beginning to the spring home buying season in March isn't much to celebrate," said NAHB President Sandy Dunn. "We still need a great deal of help from the Administration and Capitol Hill to halt the downward trends in home sales and house prices that are producing such a drag on our nation's economy and disrupting financial markets."
"The modest bounce-back in new-home sales recorded for April followed a sharp decline in March and belies the fundamental weakness that continues to exist in the nation's housing market," added NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders.
"Indeed, sales were down 42% on a year-over-year basis, the largest such reversal since September 1981,” Seiders said. “Our latest builder surveys actually show that home buying has not yet stabilized, and we are anticipating some further erosion over the coming months. Certainly, the need remains for Congress to approve targeted policy stimulus, in the form of a temporary tax credit for home buyers and other measures, and to do this as quickly as possible."
April's preliminary sales pace of 526,000 units was equivalent to the previously reported sales pace for March. However, the Commerce Department this month revised March's reading substantially downward to 509,000 units — 11% below the revised February reading.
Sales rose in three of the nation’s four regions in April. The Northeast posted a 41.7% gain that erased an equivalent decline in the previous month, while the Midwest and West recorded gains of 5.8% and 8.3%, respectively. The South, which is the nation's largest housing market, posted a 2.4% decline.
The inventory of new homes for sale declined 2.4% in April to 456,000 units, which is a 10.6-month supply at the current sales pace.
Completed homes accounted for 40% of total new homes for sale, up from 33% a year earlier, and the median number of months for sale since completion rose to 8.0 — the highest since mid-1991.
 Want to Know the Housing Forecast for the Top 100 Metros?
Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s 2008 to 2009 Metro Forecast (free preview).
Get the metro forecast with in-depth analysis, overviews and downloadable Excel tables.
To learn more, visit www.HousingEconomics.com.
 Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown
What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.
To help members navigate the uncharted waters of this slowdown, NAHB has compiled a comprehensive “Back to Basics” online toolkit — the best of the basics, the tried and true and the truly new. To access the toolkit, click here.
To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.
For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.
|
