9/29: MetroIntelligence Economic Update by P. DUFFY
MetroIntelligence Economic Update by P. DUFFY
August durable goods orders up 0.4 percent following huge July rebound
New orders for manufactured durable goods in August increased 0.4 percent to $232.8 billion. This increase, up four consecutive months, followed an 11.7 percent July increase. New, non-defense orders by businesses for capital goods minus aircraft rose 1.8 percent, exceeding projections and indicating an optimism for a continued rebound.
https://www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/adv/pdf/durgd.pdf
Homebuyer Demand Index rises over 28 percent from pre-pandemic levels
For the week ending September 20, the Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index was up 28.4 percent from pre-pandemic levels in January and February. The median home sale price increased 14 percent from 2019 to $319,978—the highest on record. The 14 percent year-over-year increase was the largest since August 2013. Since the four-week period ending July 5, home prices have increased 6.6 percent.
https://www.redfin.com/blog/us-home-prices-up-14-percent/
New home listings constrained by lumber and labor shortages
New listings of newly-built homes on Redfin dropped 4.1 percent year over year to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 74,000 in August, reversing course after a 3.8 percent gain in July. Meanwhile, new listings of existing homes grew 5.2 percent. The supply of newly-built homes for sale sank 33.6 percent year over year in August to 185,000 (just under two-thirds of unsold homes tracked by the Census Bureau for August), while the number of existing homes on the market plunged 38.3 percent —the largest declines since at least 2013. In total, newly-built homes made up 19 percent of all houses for sale on Redfin.