MNI DATA ANALYSIS: US December Home Sales Rise 3.7% To 621k SAAR>

--Headline Increase Led By 44.8% Gain in Northeast Region

--December Homes Supply Up 3.0%; Months Supply Falls To 6.6 Months

By Shikha Dave and Harrison Clarke

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - New single-family home sales rose by 3.7% to a 

621,000 annual rate in December, led by an increase in sales in the 

Northeast, South and West regions, data released by the Commerce 

Department Tuesday showed. 

     The new home sales pace was well above the 590,000 rate expected by 

an MNI survey of analysts and the 583,000 Bloomberg consensus, and 

followed downward revisions to the previous two months. As a result, 

market participants are likely to see the December increase as a 

positive factor. 

     The sales pace was below its year ago level, down -2.2% unadjusted 

from December 2017. 

     New homes sales in November were revised down to a 599,000 pace 

from the 657,000 previously announced rate. The October pace was revised 

down to 549,000 from 562,000. 

     Given the sales pace for December, the fourth quarter sales pace 

averaged 590,000, down from 605,000 in the third quarter. 

     When broken down regionally, the increase in December headline 

sales was due to gain in all regions except the Midwest. There were 

increases in the Northeast (+44.8%), the West (+1.4%), the South 

(+5.0%), and a decrease in the Midwest (-15.3%). 

--HOME SUPPLY WELL ABOVE YEAR-AGO

     The supply of new homes for sale rose by 3.0% in the month to a 

level of 344,000. The current level of supply is 17.0% higher than a 

year earlier, suggesting that supply is adequate to meet demand. 

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

supply fell to 6.6 months from the November months' supply of 6.7 

months. The December months' supply was also up from the December 2017 

level of 5.5 months.  

     Supply of new homes remains fairly high relative to sales, as 

opposed to the very tight supply of existing homes available for sale. 

--MEDIAN SALES PRICE RISES IN DECEMBER

     The median sales price rose by 5.0% to $318,600 from $303,500 in 

November. The median price stands 7.2% below the $343,300 level in 

December 2017. 

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

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