Steel Markets
New Home Sales Rebound in February
Written by Sandy Williams
March 30, 2019
Sales of new single-family homes were at an 11-month high in February. Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000, a 4.9 percent gain from January and a 0.6 percent increase from February 2018, the Commerce Department said on Friday.
“This is a welcome bounce back for new home sales…and adds another hill onto the roller-coaster few months the new housing market has experienced,” said John Pataky, executive vice president at TIAA Bank, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
Inventory was estimated at 340,000 new houses for sale at the end of February, a 6.1-month supply at the current sales rate.
The monthly supply estimate is a return to stability after the market tapered off in the autumn due to higher interest rates, said chief economist Robert Dietz at the National Home Builders Association.
“The return to the long-run trend for sales and recent declines in mortgage interest rates (now around 4.1 percent) suggest new home sales growth in the months ahead,” said Dietz. “Moreover, looking at the combined January and February data, new home sales thus far in 2019 are running 2.8 percent ahead of the comparable months of 2018.”
Median sales price in February was $315,300 and average sales price $379,600.
From January to February, sales jumped 26.9 percent in the Northeast and 28.3 percent in the Midwest. Sales rose slightly in the South by 1.8 percent and were flat in the West.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
CMC looks beyond Arizona micro-mill woes to long-term viability of construction mart
Despite the economic and geopolitical upheaval of the last five years, CMC President and CEO Peter Matt points out that the construction market has been an essential element of the way forward.
US importers face stricter rules under revamped S232 tariffs
“CBP expects full compliance from the trade community for accurate reporting and payment of the additional duties. CBP will take enforcement action on non-compliance," the agency said in a March 7 bulletin.
Steel exports rebound in January
US steel exports recovered to a five-month high in January after having fallen to a two-year low in December. This growth follows four consecutive months of declining exports.
Construction spending drops marginally in January
Construction spending edged down slightly in January, slipping for the first time in four months. The US Census Bureau estimated spending at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,196 billion in January, down 0.2% from December’s downward revised rate. The January figure is 3.3% higher than a year ago. January’s result, despite the slight erosion, […]
HVAC equipment shipments slow in December but strong annually
Shipments of heating and cooling equipment in the US fell to an 11-month low in December, according to the latest data released by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).