US Sept new home sales fell 0.2 pct

Biz.Yahoo/Reuters ^ | October 27, 2003

[Starwind]

US Sept new home sales fell 0.2 pct
Monday October 27, 10:01 am ET

   WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Department
Reported sales of new single-family homes, seasonally adjusted,
with percent changes from prior month (numbers in 1,000s).
.             Pct   Sep    Aug    Jul    Sep'02
Total Units  -0.2 1,145  1,147  1,134     1,057
 By Region:   Pct   Sep    Aug    Jul       
  Northeast  26.0    97     77     76       
  Midwest   -18.0   209    255    226       
  South      -2.5   504    517    531       
  West       12.4   335    298    301       
Total September sales of new single-family homes rose 8.3
percent from September 2002.
In 1,000s:           Sep    Aug    Jul
Actual Units Sold     92    100     98
Sales Prices:                      
  Mean             256.2  238.2  249.8
  Median           187.4  187.8  192.4
Note-Actual number of new single-family units sold is not
seasonally adjusted.
Monthly percent changes of total sales, seasonally adjusted,
from prior months as follows:
.                Aug    Jul    Jun
Total Units      1.1   -5.5   11.0
Number of Months:       Sep    Aug    Jul
 Supply of Homes        3.7    3.6    3.6
1,000 units:            Sep    Aug    Jul
 End-Month Inventory    342    341    339
 FORECAST:
 Reuters survey of economists forecast:
 U.S. Sept new home sales annual rate of 1.105 million units
 HISTORICAL COMPARISONS/NOTES:
 The U.S. Commerce Department said the September new home
sales rate in the Northeast was the highest January 1997.

[Starwind]

The full Commerce Dept report is at NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES IN SEPTEMBER 2003

[Starwind]

Fyi...

[Grampa Dave]

Reality is below versus this pos Reuters BS:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1008911/posts

Housing market still super strong New home sales 3rd highest ever at 1.145 million
cbs.marketwatch.com ^ | 27 October 2003 | Rex Nutting

Housing market still super strong New home sales 3rd highest ever at 1.145 million

By , CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 10:08 AM ET Oct. 27, 2003

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - Sales of new homes were unchanged in September at a robust 1.145 million annual pace, the Commerce Department said Monday.

New home sales were statistically unchanged from August's seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.147 million. It's the third highest level ever for new home sales. The record was set in June at 1.20 million.

Meanwhile, sales of existing homes rose about 3 percent to a record 6.69 million annualized pace, the National Association of Realtors reported.

Economists were expecting new home sales to slip to about 1.12 million at an annual rate and existing home sales to fall to 6.29 million, according to a survey conducted by CBS MarketWatch

So far in 2003, 844,000 new homes have been sold, about 12 percent more than at this point in 2002.

Home builders are expecting a record-setting sales year in 2003, despite the recent increase in mortgage rates from the summer's 40-year lows of under 5 percent.

At the end of the month, builders had 342,000 homes for sale, a very tight 3.7-month supply.

The median price of a new home rose 5.6 percent year-over-year to $187,400.

In September, new home sales surged about 26 percent in the Northeast and 12 percent in the West, while sales fell 18 percent in the Midwest and about 3 percent in the South.

The sales data are based on statistical samples and are subject to large sampling and other statistical errors. The government cautions that small month-to-month changes are not significant, especially at the regional level of detail.

It can take up to five months for the trend in sales to be established. Over the past five months, the annualized sales pace has averaged 1.41 million, up from 1.11 million last month.

Economists expect the surge in home sales to dissipate somewhat in coming months, but they do not expect the market to collapse.

Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of CBS.MarketWatch.com.

[Grampa Dave]

The really good news is the POS Reuters continues to drop like a rock in their sales in the reality of the business world:

Reuters sees 8 percent drop in quarterly sales

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1008871/posts?page=1

Reuters sees 8 percent drop in quarterly sales
Associated Press ^ | 10-27-03


Posted on 10/27/2003 6:31 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer


LONDON (AP) -- Financial news and information provider Reuters Group PLC reported an 8 percent decline in sales for the third quarter, but said revenues for the full year might fall by less than the company had expected.

Sales for the three months ending Sept. 30 were 789 million pounds ($1.33 billion), down from 855 million pounds for the same period in 2002, Reuters said Monday. The group did not release quarterly profit information.

The company's share price rose by 4.4 percent to 244.75 pence ($4.14) in afternoon trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Sales for the first nine months of the year dropped 11 percent to 2.41 billion pounds ($4.07 billion) from 2.69 billion pounds last year.

"Trading performance this quarter was a little better than expected, driven by a reduction in the overall rate of net cancellations for the third consecutive quarter," chief executive Tom Glocer said in a statement. Reuters had forecast in July that annual sales would fall by 11 percent.

"We now expect the full-year decline in revenue to be 11 percent or slightly better," he said.

Cost cutting has continued to outstrip the erosion in revenues, and the company said it remains confident of exceeding the operating profit margin of 13.1 percent that it achieved in 2002.

Glocer said the group would simplify its number of products to just 50 from what was once 1,300. This would mark an aggressive effort beyond the target of 200 products that the company announced in February as part of its "Fast Forward" strategy to cut costs and streamline the company.

Reuters announced plans in September to move the majority of its London staff to the Canary Wharf section of East London in 2005, in a consolidation that it expects will save money and improve customer service