And it’s no longer about prices, which fell, and inventories, which are now plenty high:
New Home Sales
Highlights
Upward revisions offset a lower-than-expected 412,000 annual sales rate for new home sales in July with the two prior months revised higher by a total of 28,000. July’s gain is centered entirely in the South which rose 8.1 percent in the month. The South is by far the largest region for new home sales, outdistancing all other regions combined.
Lack of new homes on the market has been constraining sales but perhaps less so now. Supply on the market rose to 205,000 vs 197,000 in June, pulling up the monthly supply to 6.0 months at the current sales rate vs 5.6 in June.
High prices have also been constraining sales but, again here too, perhaps no more. The median price fell 3.7 percent in the month to $269,800. Year-on-year, the median price is up only 2.9 percent which is well below the year-on-year sales gain of 12.3 percent.
The Dow is moving to opening highs following today’s report, a key report that, despite the soft headline and concentrated gain in the South, adds to the building evidence of renewed vigor in the housing sector.
