15:00 Dados States
Enviado: 26/3/2007 15:0210:00 AM ET
U.S. new-home sales down 18.3% year-on-year
U.S. six-month average new home sales falls to 992,000
U.S. Jan., Dec., Nov. new-home sales revised lower
U.S. Feb. median home prices nearly flat year-over-year
U.S. Feb. new-home inventories rise to 8.1 months' supply
U.S. Feb. new-home inventories highest in 16 years
U.S. Feb. new-homes sales much weaker than 1 mln expected
U.S. Feb. new-home sales fall 3.9% to 848,000 annual pace
U.S. Feb. new-home sales lowest since June 2000
ECONOMIC REPORT: New-home sales fall to 7-year low in February; Inventories of unsold houses rise to 16-year high
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Last Update: 10:00 AM ET Mar 26, 2007
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Sales of new-homes unexpectedly slowed again in February, falling 3.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 848,000, the lowest since June 2000, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting an increase in February to about 1.00 million units.
Sales were down 18.3% compared with February 2006. Sales in January were revised lower to show a 15.8% drop to an 882,000 annual rate compared with 937,000 reported previously. Reported sales in December and November were also revised lower
Inventories of unsold homes rose 1.5% to 546,000, representing an 8.1-month supply, the largest inventory in relation to sales since January 1991. The inventory is up 26.6% in the past 12 months.
The number of completed but unsold homes rose to 179,000 from 177,000, up 43% from a year earlier.
The median price of a new home was $250,000, down 0.3% compared with February 2006.
The government cautions that its housing data are subject to large sampling and other statistical errors. Large revisions, as in January, are common.
The standard error of 17.4% is so high, in fact, that the government cannot be sure in most months whether sales rose or fell.
It can take up to six months for a trend in sales to emerge. New-home sales have averaged 992,000 per month over the past six months, compared with 1 million in the six months ending in January. The six-month sales average is now down 22% from last February's 1.28 million pace.
Regionally, sales rose 25% in the West after a 26% drop in January. In February, sales fell 27% in the Northeast, 20% in the Midwest and 7% in the South.
Weather conditions can play havoc with housing data in the winter months. Most observers say sales in the prime spring selling months of March, April and May will set the tone for this year's sales.
Home builders have piled on incentives, including offering free vacations and new cars, to sell homes and reduce inventories. Such incentives are not subtracted from the sales price reported to the government.
Sales are reported when a contract is signed, not at the closing of the sale. Home builders have reported a large increase in cancellations in recent months. Cancellations are not reflected in the government data, so the reported sales are likely overstated.
Last Friday, the realtors reported that sales of existing U.S. homes rose about 4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million in February, the third increase in a row. Inventories of existing homes continued to climb.
U.S. new-home sales down 18.3% year-on-year
U.S. six-month average new home sales falls to 992,000
U.S. Jan., Dec., Nov. new-home sales revised lower
U.S. Feb. median home prices nearly flat year-over-year
U.S. Feb. new-home inventories rise to 8.1 months' supply
U.S. Feb. new-home inventories highest in 16 years
U.S. Feb. new-homes sales much weaker than 1 mln expected
U.S. Feb. new-home sales fall 3.9% to 848,000 annual pace
U.S. Feb. new-home sales lowest since June 2000
ECONOMIC REPORT: New-home sales fall to 7-year low in February; Inventories of unsold houses rise to 16-year high
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Last Update: 10:00 AM ET Mar 26, 2007
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Sales of new-homes unexpectedly slowed again in February, falling 3.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 848,000, the lowest since June 2000, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting an increase in February to about 1.00 million units.
Sales were down 18.3% compared with February 2006. Sales in January were revised lower to show a 15.8% drop to an 882,000 annual rate compared with 937,000 reported previously. Reported sales in December and November were also revised lower
Inventories of unsold homes rose 1.5% to 546,000, representing an 8.1-month supply, the largest inventory in relation to sales since January 1991. The inventory is up 26.6% in the past 12 months.
The number of completed but unsold homes rose to 179,000 from 177,000, up 43% from a year earlier.
The median price of a new home was $250,000, down 0.3% compared with February 2006.
The government cautions that its housing data are subject to large sampling and other statistical errors. Large revisions, as in January, are common.
The standard error of 17.4% is so high, in fact, that the government cannot be sure in most months whether sales rose or fell.
It can take up to six months for a trend in sales to emerge. New-home sales have averaged 992,000 per month over the past six months, compared with 1 million in the six months ending in January. The six-month sales average is now down 22% from last February's 1.28 million pace.
Regionally, sales rose 25% in the West after a 26% drop in January. In February, sales fell 27% in the Northeast, 20% in the Midwest and 7% in the South.
Weather conditions can play havoc with housing data in the winter months. Most observers say sales in the prime spring selling months of March, April and May will set the tone for this year's sales.
Home builders have piled on incentives, including offering free vacations and new cars, to sell homes and reduce inventories. Such incentives are not subtracted from the sales price reported to the government.
Sales are reported when a contract is signed, not at the closing of the sale. Home builders have reported a large increase in cancellations in recent months. Cancellations are not reflected in the government data, so the reported sales are likely overstated.
Last Friday, the realtors reported that sales of existing U.S. homes rose about 4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million in February, the third increase in a row. Inventories of existing homes continued to climb.