Home sales edged down in April. Here are the five things we learned from U.S. economic data released during the week ending May 25.
Sales of previously owned homes slowed in April. The National Association of Realtors reports that existing home sales declined 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.46 million units. This was 1.4 percent below the year-ago sales pace. Sales failed to grow in any of the four Census regions, with declines in three of the regions: Northeast (-4.4 percent), West (-3.3 percent), and South (-2.9 percent). Over the past year, sales increased only in the South (+2.2 percent). Tight inventories remained the primary culprit, although the number of homes available for sales expanded 9.8 percent during April to 1.80 million units. This was nevertheless 6.3 percent fewer than the number of homes available for sale a year ago and translated into a mere 4.0 month supply. As a result, the median price of homes sold has risen 5.3 percent over the past year to $257,900. The press release warns that “[t]he current pace of price appreciation far above incomes is not sustainable in the long run.”
…As did those of new homes. Sales of new single-family homes slipped 1.5 percent during April to 662,000 on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, per the Census Bureau. Even with April’s drop, new home sales tracked 11.6 percent ahead of its year-ago pace. Much of the decline occurred in the West, where new home sales slumped 7.9 percent during the month. Sales improved 11.1 percent in the Northeast and 0.3 percent in the South. All four Census regions enjoyed positive year-to-year new home sales gains. There were 300,000 new homes available for sale at the end of April, up 0.7 percent for the month and 12.4 percent from a year earlier. This was the equivalent to a 5.4 month supply.
Economic growth appears to have been solid in April. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) added two-basis points during the month to a seasonally adjusted +0.34. The CFNAI is a weighted index of 85 economic indicators adjusted such that a reading of 0.00 is indicative of the U.S. economy expanding at its historical rate. Fifty of the 85 indicators made positive contributions to the CFNAI. Among the four major categories of CFNAI components, two made positive contributions: those related to production (up eight basis points to +0.27) and employment (up six basis points to +0.10). The other two major groupings of components made smaller contributions: sales/orders/inventories (down six basis points to +0.02) and personal consumption/housing (down seven basis points to -0.05). The CFNAI’s three-month moving average rose by 23 basis points to +0.46, its best reading since last November.
Outside of civilian aircraft, durable goods orders rose in April. The Census Bureau reports that new orders for manufactured durable goods were at a seasonally adjusted $248.5 billion, down 1.7 percent from March. Much of the decline can be tied to the 29.0 percent drop in new orders for civilian aircraft, which had pulled down transportation goods orders 6.1 percent during the month. Net of transportation goods, new orders jumped 0.9 percent to $161.4 billion. Rising during the month were new orders for electrical equipment/appliances (+2.6 percent), fabricated metals (+2.0 percent), motor vehicles (+1.8 percent), primary metals (+1.3 percent), and computers/electronics (+1.1 percent). Durable goods shipments slipped 0.1 percent during March to $246.7 billion but jumped 1.0 percent after netting out transportation goods.
Consumer sentiment slightly eased in May. The University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment lost 8/10ths of a point to 98.0. The same measure of consumer confidence was at 97.1 a year earlier. The current conditions index pulled back by 3.1 points to 111.8 (May 2017: 111.7) while the expectations index moved up by 7/10ths of a point to 89.1 (May 2017: 87.7). The press release stated that the survey results suggest real personal consumption will rise 2.6 percent over the next year. The Conference Board will publish its May consumer confidence survey results during the upcoming week.
Other U.S. economic data released over the past week:
– Jobless Claims (week ending May 19, 2018, First-Time Claims, seasonally adjusted): 234,000 (+11,000 vs. previous week; -3,000 vs. the same week a year earlier). 4-week moving average: 219,750 (-7.9% vs. the same week a year earlier).
– FHFA House Price Index (March 2018, Purchase-Only Index, seasonally adjusted): +0.1% vs. February 2018, +6.7% vs. March 2017.
– FOMC Minutes
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Kevin’s current employer. No endorsements are implied.
What We Learned About the U.S. Economy Last Week 