|
New Single-Family Home Sales Slip Further in August
In the latest evidence of severe and ongoing weakness in the housing and financial markets, the Commerce Department reported on Sept. 25 that sales of newly built single-family homes fell 11.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 460,000 units in August.
This was 34.5% below the rate of a year earlier and the lowest level since January of 1991.
“This report is yet another example of how the housing sector is suffering the effects of the financial meltdown and extreme tightening of consumer and business credit,” said NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn, who was attending the association’s board of directors meeting in San Diego on the day the government sales report was released.
The NAHB directors decided that morning to mount a full-scale effort to contact their members of Congress in support of a plan to stabilize financial markets and address the declining home values and rising foreclosures that are the root cause of the collapse in confidence.
Dunn called for bipartisan cooperation in Congress to pass the urgently needed legislation, which she said would help shore up home values and unfreeze credit lines, “two moves that are absolutely essential to get the economy moving again.”
“The major downshift in new-home sales in August reflected a weakening economy and job market as well as tight mortgage credit market conditions,” said NAHB Chief Economist Dave Seiders. “And this occurred well before the most recent round of financial market turmoil, accentuating the urgent need for immediate action on the financial rescue plan.”
Regionally, sales skidded 36.1% in the West, 31.9% in the Northeast and 2.1% in the South. The sales pace rose 7.2% in the Midwest.
There was a 10.9-month supply of unsold new single-family homes on the market in August, up from a 10.3-month supply in July and back to the same level as in May and June.
 Attend the NAHB Construction Forecast Conference on Oct. 22
Don't miss NAHB's 2008 Fall Construction Forecast Conference and Webcast for the latest economic news about the housing industry.
Join NAHB on Oct. 22 in Washington, D.C., where the country’s leading economists and finance experts will provide insight into the uncertainties of the housing market.
To register for the conference or Webcast, and to see the full conference agenda, visit www.nahb.org/cfc.
 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.
|
