Steel Markets
Existing Home Sales Soar Despite Low Inventory and Higher Prices
Written by Sandy Williams
November 19, 2020
Existing home sales continued to soar in October, marking five straight months of gain. Sales increased 4.3 percent from September and 26.6 percent from a year ago.
Median price for an existing home jumped 16 percent year-over-year to $313,000 and most homes on the market sold in less than a month.
Inventory continued to decline, falling to a record low of 2.5 months at the current sales pace. Inventory was estimated at 1.42 million.
“Considering that we remain in a period of stubbornly high unemployment relative to pre-pandemic levels, the housing sector has performed remarkably well this year,” said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors’ chief economist.
“The surge in sales in recent months has now offset the spring market losses,” he said. “With news that a COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available, and with mortgage rates projected to hover around 3 percent in 2021, I expect the market’s growth to continue into 2021.” Yun expects existing-home sales to rise by 10 percent to 6.0 million in 2021.
Single-family home sales increased 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.12 million in October and rocketed 26.7 percent from the 2019 pace. The median price jumped 16 percent from a year ago to $317,700.
Sales of condos and co-ops rose 5.8 percent from September and 25.9 percent from a year ago to a SAAR of 730,000 units. Median price leapt 10.3 percent to $273,600.
On a month-over-month basis, existing home sales climbed 4.7 percent in the Northeast, 8.6 percent in the Midwest, 3.2 percent in the South and 1.4 percent in the West. Home prices were up by double-digit rates compared to a year ago in all four regions.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
Dodge Momentum drops on moderating data center growth
Slowing growth in data center planning caused the Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) to pull back in September. The decline followed five months of growth after the index hit a two-year low in March.
US construction spending drops again in August
Construction spending in the US declined for a third month in August but showed an increase year over year (y/y). The US Census Bureau estimated construction spending to be $2.131 trillion in August on a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). While this was 0.1% below July’s revised spending rate, it was 4.1% higher than spending […]
Global steel production eases in August
Steel mill output around the world totaled 144.8 million metric tons (mt) in August, the lowest monthly rate of 2024.
Dismal ABI suggests weakness in non-res construction will persist
The August Architecture Billings Index (ABI) continued to indicate weak business conditions amongst architecture firms through August, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.
AISI: Raw steel production slips to 5-week low
Domestic raw steel mill production eased last week but remains at a healthy rate, according to the latest release from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).