Census

Denton County New Home Prices Break Records with Fed’s Inflationary Pump

Denton County new home prices broke new records last month, responding to the Fed's massive $7.92 trillion bubble-blowing balance sheet. While the Federal Reserve continues $120 billion per month in asset purchases ($80 billion in Treasuries and $40 billion in MBS), average new home prices in Denton County hit $477,587. That was a 27.4% jump from the same time a year ago. New home prices have been skyrocketing higher this year as available new home inventory has all but vanished. Closed sales of new construction in Denton County plummeted 30 percent in April. Pending sales [...]

New Home Sales Rise Slightly, Up 15.2 Percent Year-over-Year

New home sales rose 1.6 percent in December according to Census estimates. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 842,000 translates into a 15.2 percent increase from December of 2019. The median price of a new home sold in December 2020 was $355,900. The average price was $394,900. The median price of a new U.S. home rose $26,400, or 8 percent in the middle of a global pandemic even as millions of Americans were losing their jobs. If that's not a testament to the power of central bank liquidity, I don't know what is. The inventory [...]

New Home Sales Highest Since 2006

New home sales for August came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,011,000 units. This was above expectations depending on who you were asking. The August figures from Census put U.S. new home sales up 4.8 percent from July, and up a whopping 43.2 percent from August 2019. New home sales were at the highest levels since 2006. Previous months were also revised higher. The median price of a new home in August was $312,800. The average price came in at $369,000. Both figures are lower than prices for July and down [...]

New Home Sales Soar In July To 901,000 SAAR

New home sales for July soared to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 901,000. That was the best showing for the new home market since 2007 as sales increased 13.9 percent for the month and 36.3 percent compared to July 2019. Both median and average prices jumped, rising $330,600 and $391,300 respectively. The supply of new homes plummeted to 3.9 months looking at the unadjusted numbers. Record low mortgage rates and $trillions in stimulus courtesy of the Federal Reserve's Covid-19 bailouts have proven to be the perfect recipe for home price inflation this summer. [...]

New Home Sales Rise 4.5 Percent In June On Lower Rates

The Census Bureau reported new home sales for June at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 646,000 units. This was up 7 percent from revised May figures and 4.5 percent higher than a year ago. The previous three months were revised lower. The median price of a new home contracted in June was $310,400, almost unchanged from last year. The average price of a new home in June was $368,600, a decrease of $1500 from June 2018. Months of supply stood at 6.3 in June, up from 6.0 months of supply last year. Translated on [...]

Home Builder Confidence Not Confirmed By Housing Starts & Permits Data

This week the National Association of Home Builders reported improved confidence and business conditions among new home builders. With the big drop in mortgage interest rates, builders have been enjoying solid sales so far in 2019. NAHB chairman, Greg Ugalde, even said as much... “Builders are busy catching up after a wet winter and many characterize sales as solid, driven by improved demand and ongoing low overall supply...However, affordability challenges persist and remain a big impediment to stronger sales.” With mortgage rates just above 4 percent, the year-over-year interest rate comparisons are very favorable for [...]

Census: New Home Sales For July Slide To 627,000 Annual Rate

The Census Bureau reported new home sales for July at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 627,000. That translates to a 1.7% decline from June's pace but up 12.8% year-over-year. The median price of a new home contracted in July was $328,700, an increase of 1.7%. The average price of a new home sold (contracted) in July posted at $394,300, a rise of 5.9%. The July figures for new home sales were below estimates, and that year-over-year increase is a bit misleading. July of last year was a very poor month for new home sales, [...]

Average New Home Size Continues To Shrink

The National Association of Home Builders reported that the median and average size of a new home in the U.S. continued to decline in the third quarter. Third quarter numbers on housing starts show that the median single-family new home size was 2,378 square feet.  The average square footage for new single-family homes declined to 2,518 square feet. According to the NAHB, this is apparently just part of the normal housing cycle. "The post-recession increase in single-family home size is consistent with the historical pattern coming out of recessions. Typical new home size falls prior to and during a [...]

New Home Sales Rebound In May

The Census Bureau reported a rebound for new home sales in May. New residential home sales posted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000. This was 2.9 percent higher than the revised April numbers and 8.9 percent higher than a year ago. The median price of a new home contracted in May was $345,800 while the average new home price in May came in at $406,400. Just like we saw with existing home sales this week, median home prices hit a new all-time high. New home sales volume, while up from last month, is [...]

New Home Sales Tumbled In April, Unchanged Year-Over-Year

So much for the Trump bump euphoria. New home sales tumbled in April, posting at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,000. This was 73,000 below the revised March figure and far below analysts expectations. Then again analysts haven't been paying attention to the real economy, so this latest data is not a surprise to anyone who doesn't have their head in the sand. Year-over-year, new home sales for April are back to unchanged according to the latest Census figures. And just like that, the "pent up demand" that pundits have been talking about has [...]

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