Posted on 12/30/2003 8:39:37 AM PST by Starwind
U.S. Nov existing home sales fell 4.6 pct
Tuesday December 30, 10:06 am ET
WASHINGTON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The following is data on U.S existing home sales from the National Association of Realtors (News - Websites) (seasonally adjusted annual rates): . Nov Oct (Prev) Nov'02 Units Sold (in mlns) 6.06 6.35 6.35 5.67 . Nov Oct (Prev) Nov'02 Units Sold, Pct Change -4.6 -4.9 -4.9 6.9 . Nov Oct (Prev) Nov'02 Median Price (1,000s) 170.9 171.8 172.4 161.4 Note--Median sales price is the midpoint where half the homes sold for more and half for less. . Nov Oct (Prev) Nov'02 Units Available (mlns) 2.53 2.46 2.46 2.31 Months' Worth of Supply 5.0 4.6 4.6 4.9 *Avg 30-Year Rate (Pct) 5.93 5.95 5.95 6.07 Note--Avg. rate is the Freddie Mac average commitment rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. Units Sold By Region, seasonally adjusted, in 1,000s: . Nov Oct (Prev) Nov'02 Northeast 700.0 730.0 730.0 660.0 Midwest 1,270.0 1,360.0 1,360.0 1,250.0 South 2,440.0 2,570.0 2,570.0 2,260.0 West 1,640.0 1,680.0 1,680.0 1,500.0 Median Price By Region, unadjusted, in 1,000s of dollars: . Nov Oct (Prev) Nov'02 Northeast 194.6 197.1 197.1 172.0 Midwest 143.5 140.3 141.6 138.6 South 156.0 156.8 157.4 149.9 West 232.0 238.0 238.0 215.8 FORECAST: Reuters survey of U.S. economists forecast: U.S. Nov existing home sales at 6.30 mln unit rate
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WASHINGTON (December 30, 2003) ? The market for existing single-family home sales slipped in November from record sales levels in recent months but is maintaining a historically high pace, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales declined 4.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate* of 6.06 million units in November from a pace of 6.35 million units in October, and was the fifth highest pace on record. Last month's sales activity was 6.9 percent above the 5.67-million unit level in November 2002.
David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said 2003 easily will be the high-water mark for the housing sector. "The last five months have been the strongest on record for existing-home sales. Although sales in November were off from recent peaks, last month's pace is a very respectable number," he said. "The market is being driven by low interest rates, a growing job market and a rising number of households. We will continue to see strong sales going forward, with 2004 likely to be the second-best year on record."
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 5.93 percent in November, down slightly from 5.95 percent in October; it was 6.07 percent in November 2002. "For all of 2003, the average fixed-mortgage interest rate was about 5.8 percent, the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking mortgage rates in 1971," Lereah said.
NAR President Walt McDonald, broker-owner of Walt McDonald Real Estate in Riverside, Calif., said low interest rates also will predominate in 2004. "With very low inflation, we expect fixed mortgage interest rates to increase only modestly ? about half of a percentage point over the next year ?which will maintain favorable housing affordability conditions in most of the country," he said. "This is good news for first-time buyers who may need a little more time to save for a downpayment and closing costs."
The national median existing-home price was $170,900 in November, up 5.9 percent from November 2002 when the median price was $161,400. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
Housing inventory levels at the end of November rose 2.8 percent from October to a total of 2.53 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.0-month supply at the current sales pace.
Regionally, existing-homes in the West eased by 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.64 million units in November, but was 9.3 percent higher than November 2002. The median existing-home price in the West was $232,000, up 7.5 percent from the same month a year earlier.
Existing-home sales in the Northeast slipped 4.1 percent in November to a pace of 700,000 units, but were 6.1 percent higher than a year ago. The median existing-home price in the Northeast was $194,600, up 13.1 percent from November 2002.
The home resale pace in the South declined 5.1 percent in November to an annual rate of 2.44 million units, but was 8.0 percent above November 2002. The median price of an existing home in the South was $156,000, which was 4.1 percent higher than a year ago. Existing-home sales in the Midwest fell 6.6 percent in November to an annual rate of 1.27 million units, but were 1.6 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $143,500, up 3.5 percent from November 2002.
The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing more than 972,000 members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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*The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns.
Existing-home sales, which are based on transaction closings, differ from the U.S. Census Bureau's series on new-home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. In the count of new-home sales, the house can be in any stage of construction ranging from not started to fully complete. The count of existing-home sales is based on completed transactions in which the home usually is ready for occupancy. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which generally account for 85 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions that are fairly common in the new-home sales series.
The next existing-home sales release is scheduled for January 26 at 10 a.m. EST. The next national outlook release is scheduled for January 6.
Information about NAR is available at http://realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the Web site's "News Media" section under NAR News Releases. Statistical data, charts and surveys may be found at http://realtor.org/research.
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