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Data point to housing recovery building up
Source: Agencies |
February 27, 2013, Wednesday
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SALES of new single-family homes in the United States surged to their highest level in four and a half years in January and the month's supply of houses on the market was the smallest since March 2005, further evidence the recovery in the housing sector is gaining muscle.
The US Commerce Department said yesterday that sales jumped 15.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000 units, the highest level since July 2008 when the economy was in the throes of a recession.
The percentage gain was the largest since April 1993. December's sales pace was revised up to 378,000 units from the previously reported 369,000 units. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise to a 381,000-unit rate last month.
In the 12 months through January, sales were up 28.9 percent.
The report was the latest to suggest the housing market was gaining steam and getting ready to take the baton from the cooling manufacturing sector as the main driver of the economic recovery.
Demand for housing has been steadily rising and data last week showed the number of previously owned homes on the market in January was the lowest in 13 years, while permits for future home construction hit a four-and-a-half-year high.
The recovery in the sector is being supported by record-low mortgage rates, which have been held down by the Federal Reserve's ultra-accommodative monetary policy stance.
New home sales are lagging the overall housing market. But with stocks of previously owned homes dwindling, demand for new homes should pick up significantly. New homes account for about 8 percent of the overall market.
Last month, the inventory of new homes on the market stood at 150,000 units, unchanged from December and not far from record lows. This should encourage builders to continue breaking more ground on homes.
The US Commerce Department said yesterday that sales jumped 15.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000 units, the highest level since July 2008 when the economy was in the throes of a recession.
The percentage gain was the largest since April 1993. December's sales pace was revised up to 378,000 units from the previously reported 369,000 units. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise to a 381,000-unit rate last month.
In the 12 months through January, sales were up 28.9 percent.
The report was the latest to suggest the housing market was gaining steam and getting ready to take the baton from the cooling manufacturing sector as the main driver of the economic recovery.
Demand for housing has been steadily rising and data last week showed the number of previously owned homes on the market in January was the lowest in 13 years, while permits for future home construction hit a four-and-a-half-year high.
The recovery in the sector is being supported by record-low mortgage rates, which have been held down by the Federal Reserve's ultra-accommodative monetary policy stance.
New home sales are lagging the overall housing market. But with stocks of previously owned homes dwindling, demand for new homes should pick up significantly. New homes account for about 8 percent of the overall market.
Last month, the inventory of new homes on the market stood at 150,000 units, unchanged from December and not far from record lows. This should encourage builders to continue breaking more ground on homes.
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