MNI DATA ANALYSIS: US April Home Sales Fall 1.5% To 662k SAAR>

--April Homes Supply Hits Nine-Year High; Months Supply 5.4 Months

--April Median Sales Price -6.9% To $312,400, Lowest Since April 2017

By Kevin Kastner and Holly Stokes

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - New single-family home sales fell by 1.5% to 

662,000 in April following downward revisions to the sales pace in both 

February and March, data released by the Commerce Department Wednesday 

showed. 

     New home sales pace was below the 680,000 expected, based on an MNI 

survey of economists, and combined with the downward revision in recent 

months, may be seen as slightly pessimistic by market participants. 

However, the sales pace remains well above its year ago level, up 12.4% 

unadjusted from April 2017. 

     New homes sales in March were revised down to a 672,000 pace from 

the 694,000 previously announced rate. The February pace was revised 

down to 659,000 from 667,000. Annual revisions were included in the 

data. 

     When the revisions are incorporated, the April sales pace was 

slightly ahead of the 655,000 averages seen in both the fourth and first 

quarters. 

     When broken down regionally, the decline in April headline sales 

was due to a 7.9% pullback in sales in the West following a 14.4% gain 

in the previous month. There were gains in the Northest (+11.1%) and 

South (+0.3%) regions, while sales in the Midwest were flat. 

--HOME SUPPLY WELL ABOVE YEAR-AGO

     The supply of new homes for sale rose by 0.7% in the month to a 

level of 300,000, the highest since the same level in April 2009. The 

current level of supply is 12.4% higher than a year earlier, suggesting 

that supply is nearly adequate to meet demand. 

     Based on the movements in sales and supply in April, the months' 

supply rose slightly to 5.4 months from the March months supply of 5.3 

months. The April level was unchanged from the April 2017 level, but 

below the 6.0 months supply seen last summer. 

--MEDIAN SALES PRICES DROP IN APRIL

     The median sales price fell by 6.9% to $312,400 from $335,400 in 

March, hitting its lowest point since April 2017. The April median price 

still stands 0.4% above that $311,100 level in April 2017, suggesting 

that new home prices are not accelerating rapidly, in contrast to 

existing home prices. 

             ** MNI Washington Bureau (202) 371-2121 ** 

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