US new home sales for June 0.617M vs 0.640M estimate

• Prior month 0.619M annualized (lowest level since December 2023. The high level came in at 0.693M annualized pace) revised to 0.621M
• New-home sales 0.617M which is lower than the estimate of 0.640M

Details:

• Sales of New Single-Family Houses:

  • June 2024: Seasonally adjusted annual rate of 617,000
  • 0.6% below the revised May rate of 621,000
  • 7.4% below the June 2023 estimate of 666,000

• Sales Price:

  • Median sales price: $417,300 flat YoY.
  • Average sales price: $487,200

• Inventory and Months’ Supply:

  • Seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June: 476,000
  • Represents a supply of 9.3 months at the current sales rate

The new home supply is up to 9.3 months unchanged from May but still very high. Existing home sales supply is much lower.The number is on sign contracts in June when interest rates stayed above 7% or all of the month. The rate is now back down at 6.83%. So there may be some bounce back.

Nevertheless despite the decline affordability is tough and with the worries of a slowing economy, it could be a problem for housing.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.