Monthly new homes sales reported this week missed estimates big time, down 6.1% over the past three months, although they’re still up 2.4% year-over-year.
While — as we’re forever on the lookout for stress building within the economy — we need to take such data seriously, the concerning headline results appear to belie what remains a tight housing market.
Here’s Bespoke Investment Group on the topic:
Sales of homes
not yet started were up 6% over the last 3 months, versus a 13% decline in sales of completed
units. Inventories of completed or under construction homes dropped, while the number of new
homes for sale but not yet started continued to expand.
Furthermore, the median number of months on the market for new homes remains near 3, while
months’ supply is a normal 5.7; in short, this looks like softer supply rather than demand.
And here’s a visual of some key metrics (note the difference between now and the tip of the previous bubble):
