Steel Markets
New Home Sales Slip 1.6% in November
Written by Sandy Williams
December 23, 2014
US new home sales slipped slightly in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 438,000 from the 445,000 annual rates seen the previous month and in November 2013. Sales were 1.6 percent below both time periods.
Sales missed the economist forecast of a 460,000 unit pace in November. New home sales, which account for 8 percent of the housing market, dropped for the second month in a row.
Sluggish growth in wages and a trend towards renting rather than buying has kept the housing market from reaching a full recovery. Home builders, however, remain confident that the market will continue a slow but steady recovery in 2015.
The median price of a new home in November was $280,000 and the average sales price $321,800. At the end of November, 213,000 new homes were for sale, a supply of 5.8 months at the current sales rate.
Regionally, new home sales growth was only evident in the West where sales were up 14.8 percent from October. Sales on a month-over-month basis fell by 12 percent in the Northeast, 6.3 percent in the Midwest, and 6.4 percent in the South. On a year-over-year basis, sales increased in the Midwest by 3.5 percent and in the West by 10.7 percent. Sales dropped by 33.3 percent in the Northeast from November 2013 and by 4.1 percent in the South.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
Steel market participants mull the impact of US/Mexico S232 negotiations
Steel market participants learned that negotiations between the US and Mexico include discussions about Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum despite President Trump’s June 3 proclamation increasing the tariffs from 25% to 50% for all steel and aluminum imports—except for those from the UK.
ArcelorMittal plans wire-drawing closure in Hamilton, shifts production to Montreal
ArcelorMittal’s (AM) Hamilton location to be shuttered, wire production shifting to Montreal.
Tariffs, ample domestic supply cause importers to shift or cancel HR import orders
Subdued demand is causing importers to cancel hot-rolled (HR) coil orders and renegotiate the terms of shipments currently enroute to the US, importers say. An executive for a large overseas mill said customers might find it difficult to justify making imports buys after US President Donald Trump doubled the 25% Section 232 tariff on imported steel […]
CRU Insight: A 50% S232 tariff will raise US steel prices and shift trade flows
This CRU Insight examines how the increase in Section 232 tariffs on steel to challenging levels will lead to significatively higher prices for end consumers in the US market.
Steel market shakes tariffs off amid weak demand
Service centers and distributors contend that weak demand is to blame for the flattening of domestic steel spot prices, as reflected in Nucor Steel’s weekly Consumer Spot Price (CSP) notice. On Monday, the Charlotte, North Carolina-headquartered steel producer left prices unchanged from the previous week. Nucor has maintained prices of plate produced in Brandenburg since March 28.