Here is a breakdown;

Sales fell 32.7% below the April 2010 and were off 18.3% below the May 2009.

• Median sales price decreased 9.6% from May 2009 to $200,900.

• Purchases dropped in all four U.S. regions last month.

• A record 53% sales drop occurred in the West.

• Supply of homes jumped to 8.5 month’s worth, up from 5.8 months in April.

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Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million units in April from an upwardly revised 5.36 million in March, and are 22.8 percent higher than the 4.70 million-unit pace in April 2009.
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Total housing inventory at the end of April rose 11.5 percent to 4.04 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from an 8.1-month supply in March.

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“It’s like shutting off the oil leak, but you still have a lot of oil in the Gulf to deal with,” Jay Brinkmann, the MBA’s chief economist

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The NAR reports: Existing-Home Sales Rise

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units in March from 5.01 million in February, and are 16.1 percent above the 4.61 million-unit level in March 2009.
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Total housing inventory at the end of March rose 1.5 percent to 3.58 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.0-month supply at the current sales pace, down from an 8.5-month supply in February.

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HOUSING STARTS

Privately-owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 575,000. This is 5.9 percent (±10.0%)* below the revised January estimate of 611,000, but is 0.2 percent (±9.8%)* above the February 2009 rate of 574,000.

Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 499,000; this is 0.6 percent (±10.6%)* below the revised January figure of 502,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 58,000.

HOUSING COMPLETIONS

Privately-owned housing completions in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 700,000. This is 5.4 percent (±20.2%)* above the revised January estimate of 664,000, but is 15.5 percent (±13.6%) below the February 2009 rate of 828,000.

Single-family housing completions in February were at a rate of 458,000; this is 4.3 percent (±13.7%)* above the revised January rate of 439,000. The February rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 236,000.

The upside; the low level of housing starts is a result of the flooded housing inventory which is currently being absorbed. Why is that good news? Well the housing market can’t recover without decreasing the inventory.  

The downside; the housing market will recover slower than the overall economy, as result of a high unemployment rate and uncertain job security.

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The Census Bureau report:

Sales of new single-family houses in January 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 11.2 percent (±14.0%)* below the revised December rate of 348,000 and is 6.1 percent (±15.1%)* below the January 2009 estimate of 329,000.

Homebuilders are facing tough competition given that the market is flooded with foreclosed homes. To add to there problems unemployment remains high at 9.7% and companies are slow to hire.

New home sales break down by regions:

Northeast: declined 35%
West: declined 12%
South: declined 9.5%
Midwest: rose 2.1%

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HOUSING STARTS   

Privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000. This is 2.8 percent (±11.5%)* above the revised December estimate of 575,000 and is 21.1 percent (±12.3%) above the January 2009 rate of 488,000.   

Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 484,000; this is 1.5 percent (±11.3%)* above the revised December figure of 477,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 100,000.   

HOUSING COMPLETIONS   

Privately-owned housing completions in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 659,000. This is 12.4 percent (±7.8%) below the revised December estimate of 752,000 and is 15.3 percent (±10.5%) below the January 2009 rate of 778,000.   

Single-family housing completions in January were at a rate of 427,000; this is 12.9 percent (±7.1%) below the revised December rate of 490,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 215,000.   

The upside; the low level of housing starts is a result of the flooded housing inventory which is currently being absorbed. Why is that good news? Well the housing market can’t recover without decreasing the inventory.  

The downside; the housing market will recover slower than the overall economy, as result of a high unemployment rate and uncertain job security.  

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This chart shows the monthly new home sales that is not seasonally adjusted.

Chart Source: CalculatedRiskBlog.com

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Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 16.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.45 million units in December from 6.54 million in November, but remain 15.0 percent above the 4.74 million-unit level in December 2008.

For all of 2009 there were 5,156,000 existing-home sales, which was 4.9 percent higher than the 4,913,000 transactions recorded in 2008; it was the first annual sales gain since 2005.

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Total housing inventory at the end of December fell 6.6 percent to 3.29 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 7.2-month supply4 at the current sales pace, up from a 6.5-month supply in November.

• On a percentage basis, the 16.7% monthly decline was the largest on record, dating back to 1968;

• Single-family home sales fell 16.8% (SAAR 4.79 million) and are 12.7% above the 4.25 million level in December 2008.

• Single-family sales rose 5.0% to 4,566,000 in 2009.

• First-time buyers purchased 43% of homes, down from 51% in November, according to a NAR survey.

• Median existing-home price for all housing types was $178,300 in December 2009 — a gain of 1.5% higher vs December 2008.

• Total housing inventory at the end of the year was down 6.6% to 3.29 million existing homes for sale — a 7.2-month supply;

• Raw inventory is 11.1% a year ago, the lowest level since March 2006;

Source Reference: NAR, via ritholtz.com 

Existing Home Sales – Non Seasonally Adjusted

 Graph Source: CalculatedRiskBlog.com

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The upside; the low level of housing starts is a result of the flooded housing inventory which is currently being absorbed. Why is that good news? Well the housing market can’t recover without decreasing the inventory.

The downside; the housing market will recover slower than the overall economy, as result of a high unemployment rate and uncertain job security.

HOUSING STARTS

Privately-owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000. This is 4.0 percent (±9.3%)* below the revised November estimate of 580,000, but is 0.2 percent (±11.5%)* above the December 2008 rate of 556,000. 

Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 456,000; this is 6.9 percent (±8.5%)* below the revised November figure of 490,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 92,000.

HOUSING COMPLETIONS

Privately-owned housing completions in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 768,000. This is 11.2 percent (±13.6%)* below the revised November estimate of 865,000 and is 25.3 percent (±8.6%) below the December 2008 rate of 1,028,000.

Single-family housing completions in December were at a rate of 503,000; this is 11.1 percent (±10.2%) below the revised November rate of 566,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 245,000.

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