July New Home Sales, about 15% of the market, totaled 433k annualized, 43k above estimates and up from a revised 395k in June. It is now at the highest level since Sept ’08. Months supply fell to 7.5 from 8.5 and to the lowest level since April ’07 and is an obvious big improvement as its now well off its high of 12.4 in January and close to its 30 year average of 6.1. The gains were seen in the Northeast, South and the West. The Midwest saw a drop. The absolute number of homes for sale fell to 271k, down 9k from the prior month and is now the smallest amount since April ’93. The median price fell 11.5% y/o/y and down a touch m/o/m. According to Bankrate.com, the average 30 yr mortgage rate was 5.37% in July, down from 5.48% in June. The $8,000 tax credit for 1st time home buyers continues to help and we’ll see if it continues past the Nov 30th deadline. Today’s # also squares with the cautious optimism given from some homebuilder CEO’s.
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