Home Sales Increased in September
November 12, 2010
Home sales increased ten percent for existing homes in the month of September to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.53 million in the month of Augusts. The inventory of homes on the market unsold decreased 1.9 percent to 4.04 million which is a 10.7 month supply at the sales pace we are now seeing which is down from the 12 month supply we saw in the month of August.
New home sales increased 6.6 percent in the month September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 units from a rate of 288,000 units seen in the month of August. Economists had believed a pace of 300,000 units would have been seen.
According to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index for a seasonally adjusted basis decreased 0.3 percent in the month of August after a 0.2 percent decrease in the month of July. On a year-over-year basis, prices increased 1.7 percent when compared with August of 2009.
The seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week that ended on October 22 increased 3.2 percent, while refinancing applications rose 3 percent and purchase volume increased 3.9 percent.
Durable goods orders, which are items that are expected to last longer than three years, increased 3.3 percent in the month of September after seeing a 1 percent fall in the month of August. Orders not counting volatile transportation related goods saw a decline of 0.8 percent.
The Commerce Department reported the gross domestic product, which is the total output of goods and services produced in the United States, rose at an annual rate of 2 percent during the third quarter of 2010.
First claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 21,000 to 434,000 for the week that ended on October 23, while continuing claims for the week that ended on October 16 decreased by 122,000 to 4.35 million, which is the lowest level seen since the recovery began.
Economic calendar reports to look forward to include:
November 1 – construction spending
November 3 – factory orders
November 5 – pending home sales
Mortgage Applications Rise Again
May 17, 2010
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ending May 7 rose 3.9%. Refinancing applications jumped 14.8%. Purchase volume decreased 9.5%.
The Commerce Department said wholesalers increased their inventories by 0.4% in March, following a 0.6% rise in February. Sales at the wholesale level rose a robust 2.4% in March, marking the 12th straight monthly gain.
The trade deficit increased 2.5% to $40.4 billion in March, from a revised $39.4 billion gap in February. Economists had expected the trade deficit to widen to $40.1 billion. Exports rose 3.2% to $147.87 billion. Imports increased 3.1% to $188.3 billion.
Retail sales rose 0.4% in April, following an upwardly revised 2.1% increase in March. Economists had anticipated retail sales to rise 0.2% in April. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales increased 8.8%.
Industrial production at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities increased 0.8% in April, following a 0.1% gain in March. It was the 10th consecutive monthly increase. The overall factory-operating rate rose to 73.7% of capacity in April, the highest reading since November 2008.
Total business inventories rose 0.4% in March, following an upwardly revised 0.5% increase in February. All components showed nearly uniform increases in March: manufacturers up 0.3%, retailers up 0.4%, wholesalers up 0.4%.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 to 444,000 for the week ending May 8. Continuing claims for the week ending May 1 rose by 12,000 to 4.627 million.
Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on the housing market index on May 17, housing starts on May 18 and the index of leading economic indicators on May 20.
Existing Home Sales Fall Again
March 29, 2010
Existing home sales fell by 0.6% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million units from 5.05 million units in January. The inventory of unsold homes on the market rose 9.5% to approximately 3.59 million, an 8.6-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 7.8-month supply in January.
Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — rose 0.5% in February after a revised 3.9% increase during the month of January. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted a monthly increase of 0.9%.
New home sales fell approximately 2.2% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 308,000 units from an upwardly revised rate of 315,000 units in January. Economists were expecting a pace of 320,000 units. It was the fourth straight monthly decline and the lowest pace since record keeping began in 1963.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by about 14,000 to 442,000 during the week ending March 20. Continuing claims for the week ending March 13 fell by 54,000 to 4.648 million, the lowest level since December 20, 2008.
The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for March’s final reading was 73.6, matching February’s final reading. The index is 28% higher than it was one year ago. During the economic expansion that ended in December 2007, the index averaged 88.9.
In its third and final report, the Commerce Department announced that gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. — increased at an annual rate of approximately 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2009, rather than the 5.7% increase initially reported. For all of 2009, the economy contracted 2.4%.
The upcoming economic calendar will include reports on the housing price index on March 30, factory orders on March 31 and construction spending on April 1.
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Mortgage Bankers Association Index Rose
March 8, 2010
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ending February 26 rose 14.6% to approximately 629.9. Purchase volume increased 9% to 214.5. Refinancing applications jumped 17.2% to 3,054.3.
Consumer spending did indeed rise 0.5% to approximately $52.4 billion in January, slightly more than economists had anticipated. Personal income had increased 0.1% to right at $11,400,000,000 billion.
The Institute for Supply Management reported that the monthly index of manufacturing activity was 56.5 in February after reaching 58.4 during January. Nevertheless, it was the seventh straight month of expansion. A reading above 50 generally signals expansion.
The Commerce Department reported that total construction spending fell 0.6% in January after falling 1.2% during the month of December. Economists had expected a decrease of 0.7%.
The monthly index of non-manufacturing activity rose to 53 in February from 50.5 in the month of January. A reading above 50 usually signals expansion. Economists had anticipated a reading of 51. The reading was the highest since October 2007.
The National Association of Realtors reported that its pending home sales index, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, fell 7.6% in January after a revised 0.8% increase in December.
The Labor Department reported productivity rose at an annual rate of 6.9% for our fourth quarter. Labor costs fell at an annual rate of 5.9%.
Factory orders rose approximately 1.7% in January, slightly below the 1.8% increase economists had anticipated. It was the fifth straight gain and follows a 1% increase in December.
The unemployment rate held at approximately 9.7% during February. Employers cut approximately 36,000 jobs in February, far fewer than expected. The four-week average for continuing jobless claims fell 134,000 to 4.500,000 million jobless claims.
Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on wholesale trade on March 10, international trade on March 11 and retail sales on March 12
For more information regarding Tulsa or National news, articles and commentary on homes sales, farms and commercial property in the Tulsa Real Estate market please re-visit or subscribe to our RSS Feed on our Tulsa Real Estate Mall Blog.
Existing Home Sales Fell in January
March 1, 2010
Existing home sales fell 7.2% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million units from 5.44 million units in December. The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell 0.5% to 3.27 million, is a 7.8-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 7.2-month supply in December and a 6.5-month supply in November.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in December. It was the seventh consecutive monthly gain and follows a 0.2% increase in November.
The consumer confidence index fell to 46 in February from an upwardly revised 56.5 in January. Economists had anticipated a reading of 55. The index was benchmarked at 100 in 1985, a year chosen because it was neither a peak nor a trough in consumer confidence.
The Commerce Department reported new home sales fell 11.2% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000 units from a rate of 342,000 units in December. Economists had expected a pace of 354,000.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 22,000 to 496,000 in the week ending February 20. Continuing claims for the week ending February 13 rose by 6,000 to 4.617 million.
Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — rose 3% in January after a revised 1.9% increase in December. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted a monthly decrease of 0.6%.
The Commerce Department just announced that gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. — increased at an annual rate of 5.9% in the fourth quarter of 2009, rather than the 5.7% increase initially reported last month.
Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on construction spending on March 1, and factory orders and pending home sales on March 4.
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Unemployment Rate Fell
February 11, 2010
Good news hit the airwaves when the unemployment rate in January fell to 9.7 percent a small drop from 10 percent, but a welcome change. Around 20,000 jobs were cut this month, which is a far cry from the amount in saw in December, which was 150,000. The jobless claims over the last 4 weeks average saw a decrease from 4.618 million to 51,250.
The monthly index of activity in the manufacturing industry as reported by the Institute for Supply Management was an increase from 54.9 in December to 58.4 in January. This is a good sign as it is the fastest growth seen since the summer of 2004 and the sixth month of expansion in a row. A show of more than 50 signals expansion.
Spending in the construction sector fell just a bit over 1 percent in December after down turning in November of the same percentage of 1.2 percent. It was speculated by economists to see a .5 percent decrease.
In the non-manufacturing sector in the United States, January saw a rise to 50.5 in January after in December seeing a revised 49.8. Once again, any reading over 50 shows expansion. This time economists were wrong again expecting a reading of 51.
Pending home sales index as reported by the National Association of Realtors, which was based on contracts that have been signed showed a rise of 1 percent in the month of December. At this time a year ago, the amount of homes sales was up 11 percent.
The seasonally adjusted index seen by the Mortgage Bankers Association for mortgage application during the last week of January saw an increase of 21 percent to 620.7. An increase of 10.3 percent was seen in the purchase volume bringing it to 237.8. Refinancing applications increased a great amount to 2,854.8, which was a 26.3 percent increase.
Productivity increased as stated by the Labor Department at a yearly rate at 6.2 percent in the 4th quarter, which followed a 3rd quarter increase of 7.2 percent. Overall, labor costs decreased at a yearly rate of 4.4 percent.
Factory orders was up 1 percent in December as reported by the Commerce Department, which was double the increase economists believed of 0.5 percent. This was the fourth time in a row we saw a gain and it followed a 1 percent increase in November, which was revised.
Construction spending as reported by the Commerce Department decreased 1.2 percent in December after a decrease of 1.2 percent in November. Economist believed a 0.5 decrease would be seen.
New economic calendars will be reporting on wholesale trade on February 9, February 11 is for retail sales reports and February 12 consumer sentiment.
For more information regarding Tulsa news, articles and commentary on homes sales, farms and commercial property in the Tulsa Real Estate market please re-visit or subscribe to our RSS Feed on our Tulsa Real Estate Mall Blog.
Home Sales Drop in December 2009
February 2, 2010
Even though November 2009 reported home sales being up over 7%. Existing home sales fell 16.7% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million units from 6.54 million units in November. The drop was largely due to the anticipated expiration of a tax incentive for first-time homebuyers, which has since been extended and expanded. The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell 7% to 3.3 million, a 7.2-month supply at the current sales pace.
A decline of around 10% was the industry consensus.
Here’s the full announcement from the National Association of Realtors
The Commerce Department announced that gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. — increased at an annual rate of 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2009. It was the second consecutive quarter of growth and the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2003.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in November. It was the sixth consecutive monthly gain and follows a 0.4% increase in October. On a year-over-year basis, the gauge was down 5.3% from November 2008.
The consumer confidence index rose to 55.9 in January from an upwardly revised 53.6 in December. The index was bench marked at 100 in 1985, a year chosen because it was neither a peak nor a trough in consumer confidence.
Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — rose 0.3% in December after a 0.2% increase in November. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted a monthly gain of 0.9%.
New home sales fell 7.6% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000 units from an upwardly revised rate of 370,000 units in November.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 470,000 in the week ending January 23. Continuing claims for the week ending January 16 fell by 57,000 to 4.6 million.
Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on construction spending on February 1, pending home sales on February 2 and factory orders on February 4.
For more information regarding Tulsa news, articles and commentary on homes sales, farms and commercial property in the Tulsa Real Estate market please re-visit or subscribe to our RSS Feed on our Tulsa Real Estate Mall Blog.
Index of Leading Economic Indicators
January 26, 2010
The index of leading economic indicators — designed to forecast economic activity in the next three to six months — rose a better-than-expected 1.1% in December after a revised 1% gain in November. It was the ninth straight monthly increase.
The Commerce Department reported that the combined construction of new single-family homes and apartments in December fell 4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000 units. However, applications for new building permits, seen as an indicator of future activity, jumped 10.9% to 653,000 units, the highest level since October 2008.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ending January 15 rose 9.1% to 575.9. Purchase volume increased 4.4% to 223. Refinancing applications jumped 11% to 2663.8.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index fell one point in January to 15. It was the second monthly drop in the index and the lowest reading since June. An index reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment about the housing market.
The producer price index, which tracks wholesale price inflation, rose 0.2% in December, following a 1.8% increase in November. Economists had expected a gain of 0.1%.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 36,000 to 482,000 in the week ending January 16. Continuing claims for the week ending January 9 fell by 18,000 to 4.599 million.
Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on existing home sales on January 25, the housing price index on January 26, new home sales on January 27 and gross domestic product on January 29.
While many Tulsan’s hope for a better economy this year, some forecasts point to a continued slowdown for the Tulsa metro area in 2010.
The good news is that the slowdown is not projected to be as strong as it was in 2009, and some things are expected to possibly pick up slightly in 2010.
In December, while speaking at the Tulsa Metro Chamber’s annual Economic Outlook Conference, state economist Russell Evans forecast a 0.3 percent drop in the metro area’s job total for 2010. That is an improvement, however, from the 1.7 percent drop he predicted for 2009.
He forecasts a slight job gain this year of 1.4 percent for the metro area.
For more information regarding Tulsa news, articles and commentary on homes sales, farms and commercial property in the Tulsa Real Estate market please re-visit or subscribe to our RSS Feed on our Tulsa Real Estate Mall Blog.
Housing Stats
January 15, 2010
The Housing Stats are In
As reported recently by the Institute for Supply Management the monthly index of manufacturing is on the rise. In November, the index was at 53.6 and by December, it has risen to 55.9. This was the fifth month in a row to see expansion and was the fastest pace of growth we have seen since April of 2006. Any reading above 50 signifies expansion.
Total construction fell 0.6% in November after dropping 0.5% in October as reported by the Commerce Department. This was much better than what economists had expected since they believed a decrease of .04% would occur.
Factory orders rose 1.1% in November reported by the Commerce Department, which is quite a bit more than economists had expected which was 0.5%. This marked the seventh gain in the last eight months, which follows a 0.6% increase in October alone.
The pending homes sales index an indicator that looks at the future based on signed contracts from the National Association of Realtors showed a decrease in November of 16%, which followed an increase of 3.7% in October. It is believed the decline seen in November was mainly due to the expiration of the tax credit for first time home buyers; however, this tax credit has been extended. The tax credit not only was extended for first time home buyers but also now includes move-up and repeat buyers.
Labor Department reports indicated no change in the unemployment rate in December, which is holding steady at 10%. However, employers cut 85,000 jobs. November payrolls showed that 4,000 jobs were gained which is the first gain seen since December of 2007.
Wholesalers increased their inventories by 1.5% in November as reported by the Commerce Department which was the largest gain seen since October 2004. Economists were wrong again since they had anticipated a drop of 0.2%. Sales at the wholesale level rose 3.3% in November, which was the eighth monthly gain in a row and the largest increase seen since January of 2008.
Indicators are looking good for the most part across the board with some areas of the country reporting better percentages in various areas including housing developments.