Highlights of the June new home sales report:
- Prior reading was 504K (revised to 442K)
- Sales down 8.1% compared to -5.8% exp
- Northeast -20%, Midwest -8.2%, South -9.5%, West -1.9%
- Supply at 5.8 months, highest since Oct 2011
There were warnings about a downward revision to the May data when it was the strongest since 2008 but it was a harsh revision and a very soft number. Can’t blame it on the weather either.
US new home sales
Existing home sales were a touch stronger earlier this week but overall housing metrics are nothing to get excited about.
New home sales are the most important housing metric because construction creates so many jobs and spinoffs but it’s been seriously stuck in the mud since the salad days of +1200K before the crisis.
