Steel Markets

Existing Home Sales Break Five-Month Streak
Written by Sandy Williams
December 22, 2020
Existing home sales fell for the first time in five months, dipping 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million. Sales fell or held steady in all regions although remained significantly higher on a year-over-year basis.
“Home sales in November took a marginal step back, but sales for all of 2020 are already on pace to surpass last year’s levels,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist, National Association of Realtors. “Given the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s amazing that the housing sector is outperforming expectations.”
The median existing home price for all types of housing in November was $310,800, up 14.6 percent from a year ago. Inventory totaled 1.28 million units, a 9.9 percent decline from October and a 22 percent plunge from November 2019. Inventory was at an all-time low of 2.3 months at the current sales pace.
Single-family home sales dropped 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.98 million from the previous month, but gained 26.8 percent from November 2019. The median price for an existing single-family home rose 15.1 percent from a year ago to $315,500.
Condo and co-op sales fell 2.7 percent to a SAAR of 710,000 units compared to October, but jumped 26.8 percent from last year. The median price rose 9.5 percent compared to November 2019 to $271,400.
Regionally, month-over-month sales fell 2.2 percent in the Northeast, 2.5 percent in the Midwest, 3.8 percent in the South, and were unchanged in the West.
“Circumstances are far from being back to the pre-pandemic normal,” said Yun. “However, the latest stimulus package and with the vaccine distribution underway, and a very strong demand for homeownership still prevalent, robust growth is forthcoming for 2021.”

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.