Steel Markets

Increase in October Home Sales Offset by Annual Decline
Written by Sandy Williams
November 22, 2018
After six months of decline, existing-home sales showed some improvement in October. Completed transactions for single-family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops increased 1.4 percent from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.22 million, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
The increase was tempered by a 5.1 percent drop in sales compared to a year ago, the largest annual decline since October 2014. The annual decline suggests that the housing sector will continue to soften in the coming months, said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “There is some feeling that the market could actually go even lower than what it is now in terms of sales,” Yun said.
Housing inventory declined from 1.88 million in September to 1.85 million existing homes available for sale at the end of October. At the current sales pace, inventory is at a 4.3-month supply, down from 4.4 months in September.
The median existing-home price rose 3.8 percent year-over-year to $255,400, with price gains noted in all four regions.
Existing home sales increased 1.5 percent in the Northeast, 1.9 percent in the South and 2.8 percent in the West. Sales in the Midwest slipped 0.8 percent last month.
Earlier this year, a shortage of inventory was blamed for slowing sales, but a series of Federal Reserve interest rates hikes have raised mortgage rates, adding to affordability issues.
“Rising interest rates and increasing home prices continue to suppress the rate of first-time homebuyers. Home sales could further decline before stabilizing. The Federal Reserve should, therefore, re-evaluate its monetary policy of tightening credit, especially in light of softening inflationary pressures, to help ease the financial burden on potential first-time buyers and assure a slump in the market causes no lasting damage to the economy,” said Yun.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets

Hot-rolled sources say demand continues to dwindle, prices feel arbitrary
Genuine demand, they stated, will return when the market feels stable again.

FabArc Steel Supply completes projects in Mississippi, Georgia
FabArc Steel Supply announced this week the completion of two large-scale projects in Georgia and Mississippi.

Thin demand keeps plate prices hovering at lowest levels since February
Participants in the domestic plate market say spot prices appear to have hit the floor, and they continue to linger there. They say demand for steel remains thin, with plate products no exception.

Worldsteel: Global steel demand flat, but modest rebound forecast for 2026
The World Steel Association (worldsteel) Short Range Outlook for global steel demand predicts that 2025’s steel demand will clock in at the same level as in 2024. In its October report, the Brussels-based association stated that this year’s steel demand will reach ~1,750 million metric tons (mt). The organization forecasts a 1.3% demand rebound in 2026, pushing […]

CRU: China’s indirect steel exports find new destination markets
The boom in China’s direct steel exports has not stopped this year, even with a rise in protectionist measures globally. The increase is driven by...