Daily News 8/25/15
August 25, 2015
Tuesday – August 25
Housing news was abundant today showing positive gains for the sector. The Case Shiller 20-city Index rose 5% in the year ended in June, which was near expectations and matched the May reading. On a month-over-month basis, the index was down 0.1%. The big gains were seen in Denver (10.2%), San Francisco (9.5%) and Dallas (8.2%). The component that covers the entire nation was up 4.5% in the past 12 month.
The Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that New Home Sales in July rose 5.4% from June to an annual rate of 507,000 units. The increase of 5.4% comes after a 7.7% decline from May to June. Sales were up nearly 29% from July 2014, while the median price of a new home rose 2% from a year ago to $285,900. On the supply side, the inventory of New Homes for sale was up almost 2% to 218,000, the highest level since March 2010, though still less than half below of what it was at the height of the housing boom.
Consumer across the nation felt confident in August over the current state of the U.S. economy, which was fueled by an improving labor market. The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 101.5 in August, the best reading since January and well above the 93.0 expected. In addition, it was the second highest reading since the Great Recession began in late 2007. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favorable appraisal of the labor market,” said Lynn Franco, Director of economic indicators at the Conference Board.
