US New Home Sales Disappoint As Median Price Soars

Despite homebuilder sentiment soaring to 20-year highs, existing home sales slipped unexpectedly in November and new home sales are also expected to decline marginally MoM, but instead surprised to the upside with a 1.3% MoM.

However, the beat was due to a major downward revision from -0.7% MoM to -2.7% MoM for October.

Year-over-year, new home sales growth slowed to +16.9%…

Source: Bloomberg

Due to the downward revisions, new home sales are following the trend of existing home sales lower…

Source: Bloomberg

In the three months through November, purchases averaged a 720,000 pace, the strongest in 12 years.

Purchases of new homes rose in two of four U.S. regions, led by a 52.4% surge in the Northeast and a 7.5% gain in the West, which recorded its highest sales level in two years.

But, more problematically, the median home price soared 7.2% to $330.8k – the highest since April…

21% of new homes sold in Nov. cost more than $500,000, up from 19% prior month.

Affordability remains an issue.