Consumer Confidence Up While Home Sales Continue to Drift Lower
According to the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) Monday Economic Report for this week, consumer confidence data rose from 99.1 in October to 102.0 in November, according to the Conference Board. The release noted that the rise was due to “improved confidence about future business conditions, job availability and incomes” even though they felt slightly less positive in their views of current economic conditions.
New single-family home sales fell 5.6% in October, dropping from 719,000 units to 679,000 units. Sales fell sharply in the Midwest and West. Potential buyers have been impacted negatively by rising mortgage rates, with affordability the major concern. In a promising move, interest rates have edged down in recent weeks. Despite recent weaknesses, new single-family home sales have risen 17.7% YoY.
There were 7.8 months of supply for new single-family homes in October, up from 7.2 months in September. The median sales price was $409,300 in October, continuing to move lower since reaching a record $496,800 one year ago.