New Home Sales sept 2013

Highlights There are two new home sales reports today on Econoday due to the delayed effects of the government shutdown. There is one report for September and one report for October. New home sales fell 6.6 percent in September to a 354,000 million annual rate. The rate for August is revised sharply downward, to 379,000 from 421,000. Tight supply has been limiting sales all year though supply at the September sales rate did improve, to 6.4 months vs 5.6 months in August. A plus is that high home prices are not as much of a drag as they have been on sales. The median price fell 0.5 percent in September to $257,400. Details for September show sales declines across regions led by double digit declines in the Midwest and Northeast. Held down by low supply, high home prices, unattractive mortgage rates and a slow jobs market, housing has been trying to regain momentum during the second half of the year. Market Consensus before announcement There are two new home sales reports today on Econoday due to the delayed effects of the government shutdown. There is one report for September data and one report for October data. Home sales have been volatile in recent months due to uncertainty over mortgage rates. New home sales rebounded 7.9 percent in August after plunging 14.1 percent the month before. August's annualized rate of 421,000 was up 25.1 percent on a year-ago basis. The median price was down 0.7 percent in the month to $254,600 which is the fourth monthly decline in a row. However, the price data are not repeat transactions and other (repeat transactions) measures show gains in home prices.