Steel Markets

Existing Home Availability Tight and Costly
Written by Sandy Williams
April 24, 2018
Existing home sales in March rose 1.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.60 million. Tight inventory and affordability have kept sales 1.2 percent below year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors.
“Robust gains last month in the Northeast and Midwest – a reversal from the weather-impacted declines seen in February – helped overall sales activity rise to its strongest pace since last November at 5.72 million,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The unwelcoming news is that while the healthy economy is generating sustained interest in buying a home this spring, sales are lagging year-ago levels because supply is woefully low and home prices keep climbing above what some would-be buyers can afford.”
Inventory at the end of March was 1.67 million existing homes for sale, an increase of 5.7 percent from February but still 7.2 percent lower than the 2017 level. Inventory levels have fallen year-over-year for 34 consecutive months, said NAR. March inventory stands at a 3.5-month supply at the current sales pace.
While availability is falling, pricing continues to rise. The median existing home price for all types of housing rose 5.8 percent to $250,400 in March.
Single-family home sales rose a slight 0.6 percent from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.99 million in March. Median price jumped 5.9 percent year-over-year to $252,100.
Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 5.2 percent sequentially to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units in March, but were still 3.2 percent below March 2017. The median existing condo price jumped 4.8 percent from last year to $236,100.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets

Steel Summit: Schneider sees SDI ‘on the edge of a very good run’
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) President and Chief Operating Officer, Barry Schneider, remains bullish about the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker’s position in the current market.

Sheet market participants say sales still in a slump
Across the US and throughout the steel supply chain, market participants are reporting another painfully quiet week for hot-rolled (HR) coil sales.

CRU: Lower sheet prices have pulled back demand for imports
Domestic sheet prices in the US remained under pressure, limiting interest in imports, while domestic prices for longs products continued to rise.

President Trump intends to set additional steel tariffs
While boarding Airforce One on Friday, US President Donald Trump stated that he would be setting more steel tariffs and putting ~100% tariffs on semiconductors and chips.

USS, government officials give update on Clairton Coke Works incident
U.S. Steel, Allegheny County executive Sara Innamorato, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro clarified details from early reports about the Clairton Coke Works facility explosion just one day earlier.