Jump to navigation

Free Newsletter Modern Trader Follow

Main menu

  • Futures
    • Modern Trader Magazine
    • Commodities
    • Futures Mag Archives
    • ETFs
    • Financials
    • Forex
    • Managed Funds
    • Market Analysis
    • News
    • Options
    • Regulation
    • Technology
    • Trading Strategies
    • Education
    • Futures Op-Ed
  • Favorites
    • Alpha Pages Most Popular
    • Futures Magazine
    • Modern Trader Magazine
    • Most Popular
    • Slideshows & Lists
    • Special Topics
      • Alpha Hunters
      • Bad Boys
      • FINtech
      • High-Frequency Trading
      • Trader's Life
      • Trading Strategies
      • FUTURES MAG's 500th ISSUE
      • We asked traders
  • Traders
    • Market Data
    • Hot Charts
    • Interactive Charts
    • Trading Calendar
  • FINalternatives
  • Hard Assets
    • Home
    • Base Metals
    • Precious Metals
    • Rare Earth Metals
    • Commodities
    • Mining Investments
    • Slideshows
  • Modern Trader
    • Subscribe
    • Past Issues
  • All +
    • Follow Us +
      • FuturesMag
      • Newsletters
      • Facebook
      • Google+
      • Linkedin
      • Twitter
      • RSS Feeds
    • About Us +
      • About
      • Advertise
      • Contact
      • Contribute
      • Privacy Policy
  • !
Follow Futures          
       
more >>

We Asked Traders

We asked traders for their opinion on the launch of bitcoin futures

Sponsored Content

Trading

Equities.com launches unlimited trading via Tradier Brokerage, Transforming into a news & fintech portal

Featured Topics

more Commodities>>

Commodities

Energy demand steps back in play
Advertisement
more Volatility>>

Volatility

Volatility & opportunity in the energy sector
Daily Price Action: E-mini S&P 500
more Options>>

Options

Trading Vertical Option Spreads

Advertisement

Sales of new U.S. homes decrease to end first year of rebound

By Alex Kowalski, Bloomberg

January 25, 2013 • Reprints

Purchases of new U.S. homes unexpectedly dropped in December, indicating the U.S. housing rebound will take time to develop after the industry completed its first year of recovery.

Sales declined 7.3 percent to a 369,000 annual pace following a 398,000 rate in November that was higher than previously estimated and the strongest in more than two years, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for sales to reach 385,000 last month.

Even with December’s slip, 367,000 new homes were purchased for all of 2012, the most since 2009 and the first annual gain in seven years, showing the housing market is on the road to recovery. A dearth of previously-owned properties in the U.S., mortgage rates near record lows, healthier job prospects and a rising number of households should stoke demand for newly- constructed homes this year.

“2012 was the first year we’ve seen a sustained recovery in housing,” Celia Chen, a housing economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. “This year will be even better. On the supply side, inventories are pretty tight. On the demand side, things are definitely improving, and that’s because job growth is in place.”

Economists’ estimates ranged from a sales rate of 340,000 to 406,000. November was previously reported as showing sales of 377,000 at an annual rate.

For all of 2012, new home sales increased 19.9 percent, the biggest jump since 1983 and the first gain since 2005.

Higher Prices

The median price of a new home increased 13.9 percent last month from a year ago, climbing to $248,900.

In December, purchases decreased in three of four regions, led by a 29.4 percent slump in the Northeast. Sales also fell 11.1 percent in the West and 8.4 percent in the South. They rose 21.3 percent in the Midwest.

The housing data for last year show the market gained vitality in 2012. Construction of new properties rose last month to a 954,000 annual rate, the fastest pace since June 2008, according to Jan. 17 Commerce Department figures. The December print capped the best year for homebuilding since 2008.

Today’s report showed the supply of new homes at the current sales rate climbed to 4.9 months from 4.5 months in November. There were 151,000 new houses on the market at the end of December, up from 149,000 the prior month.

There were 1.82 million previously-owned homes on the market in December, the fewest since January 2001, according to National Association of Realtors data earlier this week.

Page 1 of 2
>>next >

About the Author

Copyright 2014 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Related Articles
Daily Price Action: E-mini S&P 500
Daily Price Action: E-mini S&P 500
Daily Price Action: E-mini S&P 500
Daily Price Action: E-mini S&P 500
Daily Price Action: E-mini S&P 500
Previous
Netflix explodes higher on customer growth, profits
Next
Canada dollar falls to 6-month low as CPI drop exceeds forecast
Related Terms
Bloomberg 5254financials 2975Economy 1513Department of Commerce 838Pennsylvania 471Reports 345Housing 314National Association of Realtors 219Wells Fargo 202National Association of Home Builders 88Moody 62homes 59Real estate 45paint 26PPG Industries Inc. 4glass maker 2Celia Chen 2Charles Bunch 2

Free Newsletter Modern Trader Follow

Main menu

  • Futures
    • Modern Trader Magazine
    • Commodities
    • Futures Mag Archives
    • ETFs
    • Financials
    • Forex
    • Managed Funds
    • Market Analysis
    • News
    • Options
    • Regulation
    • Technology
    • Trading Strategies
    • Education
    • Futures Op-Ed
  • Favorites
    • Alpha Pages Most Popular
    • Futures Magazine
    • Modern Trader Magazine
    • Most Popular
    • Slideshows & Lists
    • Special Topics
      • Alpha Hunters
      • Bad Boys
      • FINtech
      • High-Frequency Trading
      • Trader's Life
      • Trading Strategies
      • FUTURES MAG's 500th ISSUE
      • We asked traders
  • Traders
    • Market Data
    • Hot Charts
    • Interactive Charts
    • Trading Calendar
  • FINalternatives
  • Hard Assets
    • Home
    • Base Metals
    • Precious Metals
    • Rare Earth Metals
    • Commodities
    • Mining Investments
    • Slideshows
  • Modern Trader
    • Subscribe
    • Past Issues
  • All +
    • Follow Us +
      • FuturesMag
      • Newsletters
      • Facebook
      • Google+
      • Linkedin
      • Twitter
      • RSS Feeds
    • About Us +
      • About
      • Advertise
      • Contact
      • Contribute
      • Privacy Policy
  • !
images