Kathianne
11-28-2012, 06:51 PM
Note the downward adjustment, sharp, for September:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/us-usa-homesales-idUSBRE8AR0RP20121128
New home sales stagnant, cast shadow on housing
WASHINGTON | Wed Nov 28, 2012 3:27pm EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. single-family home sales fell slightly in October and sales for the prior month were revised sharply lower, casting a faint shadow over one of the brighter spots in the U.S. economy.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales dropped 0.3 percent last month to a 368,000-unit annual rate, while September's sales pace was revised to 369,000 from 389,000.
The housing sector has been a point of relative strength this year in an economy beset by flagging business confidence and cooling demand from abroad.
A report last week showed a surprisingly sharp gain in home resales in October, while data this week showed prices for single-family homes have risen continuously since February.
Economists expect home construction to add to economic growth this year for the first time since 2005.
Wednesday's data did not change the view that housing is still in recovery mode, although the pace of new home sales in October was below the level of May, suggesting little upward momentum. "It's just that progress will be slow," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said in its anecdotal Beige Book report the market for single-family homes improved in most areas of the nation from late-October through mid-November.
The report, based on comments from the Fed's business contacts, said the economy had grown at a "measured" pace over that period, with consumer spending expanding moderately but manufacturing activity softening. Hiring remained modest, it said.
Weakness in business spending has been restraining growth, but housing has helped offset that. Consumer confidence has also been more bullish.
Wednesday's home sales report showed the median sales price for a new home in October was 5.7 percent higher than a year earlier, but the pace of year-over-year price gains slowed for a second straight month.
U.S. home-builder stocks fell on the data, even as broad market indexes rose slightly.
...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/us-usa-homesales-idUSBRE8AR0RP20121128
New home sales stagnant, cast shadow on housing
WASHINGTON | Wed Nov 28, 2012 3:27pm EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. single-family home sales fell slightly in October and sales for the prior month were revised sharply lower, casting a faint shadow over one of the brighter spots in the U.S. economy.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales dropped 0.3 percent last month to a 368,000-unit annual rate, while September's sales pace was revised to 369,000 from 389,000.
The housing sector has been a point of relative strength this year in an economy beset by flagging business confidence and cooling demand from abroad.
A report last week showed a surprisingly sharp gain in home resales in October, while data this week showed prices for single-family homes have risen continuously since February.
Economists expect home construction to add to economic growth this year for the first time since 2005.
Wednesday's data did not change the view that housing is still in recovery mode, although the pace of new home sales in October was below the level of May, suggesting little upward momentum. "It's just that progress will be slow," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said in its anecdotal Beige Book report the market for single-family homes improved in most areas of the nation from late-October through mid-November.
The report, based on comments from the Fed's business contacts, said the economy had grown at a "measured" pace over that period, with consumer spending expanding moderately but manufacturing activity softening. Hiring remained modest, it said.
Weakness in business spending has been restraining growth, but housing has helped offset that. Consumer confidence has also been more bullish.
Wednesday's home sales report showed the median sales price for a new home in October was 5.7 percent higher than a year earlier, but the pace of year-over-year price gains slowed for a second straight month.
U.S. home-builder stocks fell on the data, even as broad market indexes rose slightly.
...