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发帖数: 29846 | 1 US new-home sales collapse in March
April 23, 2015 - 12:35 PM
By JOSH BOAK, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new U.S. homes plummeted in March, as the spring
buying season opened with sharp declines in the Northeast and South.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that new-home sales fell 11.4 percent
last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000. This marks a
swift reversal from an annual sales pace of 543,000 in February, which had
been the strongest performance in seven years.
Purchases of new homes have been volatile on a monthly basis, although sales
during the first quarter of 2015 are higher than in 2014. The volatility
points to a real estate market still finding its footing in the aftermath of
the housing bubble that triggered the Great Recession in 2007 and the weak
recovery that has followed.
"The pace is sluggish, but the trend in new home sales is still higher, said
Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. "Don't be
surprised to see a bounce back in April."
New-homes sales last month plunged 33 percent in the Northeast and 15.8
percent in the South, while the West registered a slight loss and the
Midwest reported a modest gain. The median sales price fell 1.7 percent
since March 2014 to $277,400.
Despite last month's sales decline, homebuilders are hopeful that the spring
buying season will draw more buyers.
Winter storms in January and February closed construction sites and likely
pushed back potential March sales to later in the year. At the same time, a
yearlong hiring spree coupled with low mortgage rates has expanded the
number of people shopping for a home.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment
index rose in April, and the outlook for sales of single-family houses over
the next six months climbed to its highest level since December.
In a separate report Wednesday, sales of existing homes surged in March. The
higher demand, however, has yet to cause additional listings to come onto
the market. That could prompt construction firms to quicken the pace of
building, leading more buyers to choose to purchase a new home instead.
Sales of existing homes rose 6.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 5.19 million, the National Association of Realtors said in
its report.
The existing-home market had just 4.6 months of supply nationwide, well
below the six months of supply that economists say would reflect a healthy
market.
Some homeowners are choosing to renovate instead of selling their home and
upgrading. An index measuring renovation plans by Houzz, an online firm for
home remodeling and design, rose during the first three months of this year
compared to the end of 2014.
There is also rising demand for housing as the economic recovery approaches
its seventh year.
Job growth and low mortgage rates have put homebuyers in a stronger
financial position.
Employers have added 3.1 million jobs over the past year, as the
unemployment rate has tumbled from 6.6 percent to 5.5 percent. The hiring
has increased the number of paychecks in the economy and created more
potential for consumers to spend.
It has also become cheaper to borrow to buy a home. Average 30-year fixed
rates were 3.65 percent this week, according to the mortgage giant Freddie
Mac. That average has dropped sharply from a 52-week high of 4.33 percent. |
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