1. Eye on the Economy
New Home Sales Jump in August
October 2, 2014
eyeonhousing.org
2. New Home Sales 2
•New home sales rebounded in August
• Increased 18% to a seasonally
adjusted rate of 504,000
•August rate up 33% over August 2013
•Indicative of ongoing recovery
• Read more here
3. New Single-family Home Inventory 3
•Inventory of new single-family homes
increased to 206,000 (non-seasonally
adjusted)
•48,000 were completed, ready to
occupy residences
•Months’ supply fell to 4.8 months
• Read more here
4. Mortgage Interest Rates 4
•Mortgage interest rates remain
historically low
•Average effective interest for new
home sales was 4.25% in August
• Read more here
5. Housing’s Share of GDP 5
•Housing’s share of GDP was 15.5%
•3.1% due to residential construction
• Home building & remodeling
• Read more here
•GDP grew 4.6% in second quarter
• Read more here
6. Construction Spending 6
•Construction spending declined 0.1%
in August
• Decline due to weakness in
the remodeling sector
• Read more here
7. Existing & Pending Home Sales 7
•August existing home sales down
5.3% year-over-year
• Read more here
•Pending sales fell 1% in August
• Read more here
• Declines suggest withdrawals of
investor and cash home buyers
8. Home Prices 8
•Case-Schiller national index was up
5.6% year-over-year in August
• 27th consecutive month
increase
•Home prices have risen almost 21%
over the last two years
• Read more here
•Household balance sheets improve
•Value of owner-occupied real estate
reaching 20.2 trillion in second
quarter
• Read more here
9. State & Local Taxes 9
•Rising prices have increased
property tax revenue
• Reached a $493 billion
annual rate for all property
sources
•Property Taxes make up 40.3% of
state and local tax receipts
• Read more here
10. Population Survey 10
•Workers under 35 realized income
gains in 2013
• In 2012 experienced an
almost 1% drop in median
income
• Same cohort experienced a
1.1% increase last year
•Surveys show homeownership is an
important goal for Millennials
• Despite being delayed
• Read more here
11. Mixed Readings on Consumer Confidence 11
•In September, Thomson
Reuters/University of Michigan
measured an increase in consumer
sentiment
• Read more here
•The Conference Board Consumer
Confidence Index declined
• Due to concerns about
current and future
employment conditions
• Read more here