Existing home sales - 10:15am

Full report here Existing-Home Sales Ease Following Four Monthly Gains Washington, September 24, 2009 Existing-home sales in August gave back some of their strong gain in July but remain above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – declined 2.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.10 million units in August from a pace of 5.24 million in July, but remain 3.4 percent above the 4.93 million-unit level in August 2008. In the previous four months, sales had risen a total of 15.2 percent. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the tax credit is working. “Home sales retrenched from a very strong improvement in July but continue to be much higher than before the stimulus. The first-time buyer tax credit is having the intended impact of bringing buyers into the market, allowing them to take advantage of very favorable affordability conditions,” he said. “Some of the give-back in closed sales appears to result from rising numbers of contracts entering the system, with some fallouts and a backlog contributing to a longer closing process, but the decline demonstrates we can’t take a housing rebound for granted.” According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.19 percent in August from 5.22 percent in July; the rate was 6.48 percent in August 2008. An NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 30 percent of homes in August, and that distressed homes accounted for 31 percent of transactions; both were unchanged from July. “The recent trend shows broad improvement in most of the country, but with an expected rise in foreclosures over the next 12 months we need to maintain a healthy level of ready buyers to absorb the inventory. An extension of the tax credit is critical to preserve incentives for financially qualified buyers to enter the market,” Yun said. He added that many buyers had been on the sidelines during the past few years, waiting for signs of stabilization. “Now that the market is showing some momentum, we have an opportunity to achieve a more rapid and broader stabilization in home prices. Extending and expanding the tax credit also would help to keep other families from becoming upside down in their mortgages or risk foreclosure,” Yun said. “When home prices show sustained gains, credit will become more widely available to other sectors because Wall Street will be able to price risks confidently. Stable home values will also allow more families to purchase consumer products and provide a strong boost for the broader economy.” NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said time is running very short for the existing tax credit. “Because it’s generally taking 60 days to close on a home after a contract is offered, buyers have little time to act to complete a purchase by the November 30 deadline,” he said. “There’s no guarantee what Congress might do, so there’s really no time to waste. Since Realtors® have unparalleled knowledge of local markets, they can also advise first-time buyers on any additional state or local programs that might be able to offer them financial assistance, and help them close on a home before the tax credit expires.” Total housing inventory at the end of August fell 10.8 percent to 3.62 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.5-month supply2 at the current sales pace, down from a 9.3-month supply in July. Unsold inventory totals are 16.4 percent lower than a year ago. The national median existing-home price3 for all housing types was $177,700 in August, down 12.5 percent from August 2008. Distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell for 15 to 20 percent less than traditional homes. Single-family home sales fell 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.48 million in August from a level of 4.61 million in July, but are 2.5 percent higher than the 4.37 million-unit pace in August 2008. The median existing single-family home price was $177,500 in August, down 12.1 percent from a year ago. Existing condominium and co-op sales slipped 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 620,000 units in August from a spike of 630,000 in July, but are 10.1 percent higher than the 563,000-unit level a year ago. The median existing condo price4 was $179,300 in August, which is 15.7 percent below August 2008. Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast declined 2.2 percent to an annual pace of 910,000 in August, but are 5.8 percent above August 2008. The median price in the Northeast was $241,100, which is 10.5 percent below a year ago. Existing-home sales in the Midwest fell 6.6 percent in August to a level of 1.14 million but are unchanged from a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $149,900, down 10.4 percent from August 2008. In the South, existing-home sales were down 3.1 percent to an annual pace of 1.89 million in August but are 1.6 percent above August 2008. The median price in the South was $157,400, which is 11.0 percent below a year ago. Existing-home sales in the West declined 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.16 million in August but are 7.4 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the West was $220,500, down 12.2 percent from August 2008. The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Jobless claims - 8:45am

Full report here UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Sept. 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 530,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 551,000. The 4-week moving average was 553,500, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised average of 564,500. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.6 percent for the week ending Sept. 12, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.7 percent. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Sept. 12 was 6,138,000, a decrease of 123,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 6,261,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,187,250, a decrease of 1,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 6,188,500. The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.651 million. UNADJUSTED DATA The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 434,358 in the week ending Sept. 19, an increase of 21,966 from the previous week. There were 398,070 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.9 percent during the week ending Sept. 12, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 5,204,972, a decrease of 91,789 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.3 percent and the volume was 3,014,874. Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin during the week ending Sept. 5. Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,141 in the week ending Sept. 12, a decrease of 401 from the prior week. There were 1,919 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 281 from the preceding week. There were 19,192 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Sept. 5, a decrease of 1,233 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 30,213, a decrease of 51 from the prior week. States reported 3,223,849 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending Sept. 5, an increase of 82,364 from the prior week. There were 1,116,863 claimants in the comparable week in 2008. EUC weekly claims include both first and second tier activity. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Sept. 5 were in Puerto Rico (6.7 percent), Oregon (5.6), Nevada (5.4), Pennsylvania (5.4), Michigan (5.2), Wisconsin (4.9), California (4.8), New Jersey (4.8), Connecticut (4.7), North Carolina (4.7), and South Carolina (4.7). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Sept. 12 were in Wisconsin (+1,573), Oregon (+829), and Kansas(+677), while the largest decreases were in Texas (-4,623), Illinois (-4,217), Pennsylvania (-3,961), Michigan (-3,012), and Massachusetts (-2,389).