MNI DATA IMPACT: US March Home Sales Rise 4.5 To 692k SAAR>

--Headline Increase Led By 17.6% Gain in Midwest

--March Homes Supply Down 0.3%; Months Supply Down To 6.0 Months

By Shikha Dave and Harrison Clarke

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - New single-family home sales rose by 4.5% to a 

692,000 annual rate in March, led by increases in sales in the Midwest, 

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

Tuesday showed. 

     The new home sales pace was well above the 648,000 rate expected by 

an MNI survey of analysts and the 650,000 Bloomberg consensus, and 

followed downward revision to the last two months. As a result, market 

participants are likely to see the March increase as a positive factor. 

The unadjusted sales pace was 3.0% above its year ago level. 

     Here are the key findings from the release:

     -New homes sales in February were revised down to a 662,000 pace 

from the 667,000 previously announced rate. The January pace was revised 

down to 625,000 from 636,000. Given the sales pace for the last three 

months, the first quarter sales pace of 660,000 lies well above the 

fourth quarter average of 575,000. 

     -When broken down regionally, the increase in March headline sales 

was due to gains in all regions except for the Northeast. There were 

increases in the South (+3.6%), the Midwest (+17.6%) and the West 

(+6.7%). There was a decline of 22.2% in the Northeast. 

     -The supply of new homes for sale fell by 0.3% in the month to a 

level of 344,000. The current level of supply is 15.8% higher than a 

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

the lowest level of supply of new homes since November 2018, when it was 

334,000. 

     -Based on the movements in sales and supply in March, the months' 

supply fell to 6.0 months from the February months' supply of 6.3 

months. The March months' supply was up from its 5.3 months level a year 

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

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

     -The median sales price fell by 4.0% to $302,700 from $315,200 in 

February. The median price stands 9.7% below the $335,400 level in March 

2018. This is the lowest median home price since February 2017, when it 

was $298,000. 

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

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