US New Home Sales Plunge After Massive Downward Revision As Prices Soar

With home prices soaring at their fastest pace since 2005 in March, and existing home sales unexpectedly tumbling for the 32rd straight month in April, analysts expected new home sales to finally fall prey to the affordability crisis in April (after screaming 20.7% MoM higher in March due to February’s weather impacts). Thanks to a massive downward revision for March – from that 20.7% to just 7.4% – April new home sales plunged 5.9% MoM (from that revised print).

Ignore the YoY comps since nothing sold last year.

Source: Bloomberg

Having bucked the trend of existing- and pending-home sales, new home sales have finally snapped lower to 863k (losing the 1 million mark once again)…

Source: Bloomberg

A jump in building materials costs is contributing to higher prices, a headwind for an otherwise robust housing market.

New home sales fell in the Northeast (-13.7%),Midwest *-8.3%), and the South (-8.2%), but rose in the West (+7.9% vs -31.8% in March).

And, as we have noted recently, the enthusiasm of homebuilders (near record highs) is mirrored almost perfectly by the total disdain of homebuyers (near record lows) as rates rising alongside home prices removes all but the wealthiest from the American Dream pipeline…

Source: Bloomberg

So, Mr. Powell, keep pumping (and face even bigger crises), or pull the rip cord now and deal with the carnage?