National Data

HOUSING MARKETING

icon Home Sales*

Sales of new single-family homes totaled 808,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in the third quarter of 1997, a statistically insignificant 4 percent above the previous quarter and a statistically insignificant 2 percent above the third quarter of 1996. The number of new homes for sale at the end of September 1997 numbered 286,000 units, down a statistically insignificant 1 percent from the last quarter and down 14 percent from the third quarter of 1996. At the end of September, inventories represented a 4.4 months' supply at the current sales rates, unchanged from the previous quarter and down 17 percent from the third quarter of 1996.

Sales of existing single-family homes for the third quarter of 1997 reported by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® totaled 4,270,000 (SAAR), up 3 percent from the second quarter's level and up 4 percent from the third quarter of 1996. The number of units for sale at the end of the third quarter was 2,010,000, 9 percent below the previous quarter and 7 percent below the third quarter of 1996. At the end of the third quarter, a 5.6 months' supply of units remained, 13 percent below both the previous quarter and the third quarter of 1996.

*Units in thousands.
**This change is not statistically significant.
Sources: New: Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce; and Office of Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Existing: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®

icon Home Prices

The median price of new homes during the third quarter of 1997 was $145,000, down a statistically insignificant 1 percent from the previous quarter's level and up a statistically insignificant 4 percent from the third quarter of 1996. The average price of new homes sold during the third quarter of 1997 was $173,000, down a statistically insignificant 2 percent from the second quarter of 1997 and up 5 percent from the third quarter a year ago. The price adjusted to represent a constant-quality house was $170,400, nearly equal to the second quarter of 1997 and up a statistically insignificant 3 percent from the third quarter of 1996. The values for the set of physical characteristics used for the constant-quality house are based on 1992 sales.

The median price of existing single-family homes in the third quarter of 1997 was $126,500, 2 percent above last quarter and 5 percent above the third quarter of 1996, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®. The average price of $157,200 was 2 percent above the previous quarter and 6 percent above the third quarter of 1996.

**This change is not statistically significant.
¹A constant-quality house has the same physical characteristics from year to year and its price is estimated using statistical models.
Sources: New: Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce; and Office of Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Existing: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®

icon Housing Affordability

Housing affordability is the ratio of median family income to the income needed to purchase the median-priced home based on current interest rates and underwriting standards, expressed as an index. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® composite index value for the third quarter of 1997 shows that families earning the median income have 126.6 percent of the income needed to purchase the median-priced existing home. This figure is 1 percent above the second quarter of 1997 and 2 percent above the third quarter of 1996. This increase is the result of a 25-basis-point decrease in the interest rate and a 1-percent rise in median family income more than offsetting a 2-percent increase in the median home price during the last quarter. The fixed-rate index rose 2 percent from the second quarter of 1997 and 4 percent from the third quarter of 1996. The adjustable-rate index increased by 1 percent from the previous quarter and by 3 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.

Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®

icon Apartment Absorptions

There were 44,000 new, unsubsidized, unfurnished, multifamily (5 or more units in structure) rental apartments completed in the second quarter of 1997, up 12 percent from the previous quarter but down 18 percent from the second quarter of 1996. Of the apartments completed in the second quarter of 1997, 78 percent were rented within 3 months. This absorption rate is 8 percent above the previous quarter and 10 percent above the same quarter of the previous year. The median asking rent for apartments completed in the second quarter was $715, which is a statistically insignificant 6 percent below the previous quarter but a statistically insignificant 5 percent higher than a year earlier.

*Units in thousands.
**This change is not statistically significant.
Sources: Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce; and Office of Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development

icon Manufactured (Mobile) Home Placements

Manufactured homes placed on site ready for occupancy in the second quarter of 1997 totalled 264,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, 20 percent below the level of the previous quarter and 12 percent below the second quarter of 1996. The number of homes for sale on dealers' lots at the end of the second quarter totalled 126,000 units, 17 percent above the previous quarter and 26 percent above the same quarter of 1996. The average sales price of the units sold in the second quarter was $40,600, a statistically insignificant 4 percent above the previous quarter and 5 percent above the second-quarter 1996 price.

*Units in thousands. These are HUD-code homes only and do not include manufactured housing units built to meet local building codes, which are included in housing completions figures.
**This change is not statistically significant.
Sources: Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce; and Office of Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development

icon Builders' Views of Housing Market Activity

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) conducts a monthly survey focusing on builders' views of the level of sales activity and their expectations for the near future. NAHB uses these survey responses to construct indices of housing market activity. (The index values range from 0 to 100.) The third-quarter value for the index of current market activity for single-family detached houses stood at 61, up 1 point from the second quarter but down 1 point from 1996's third quarter. The index for future sales expectations, 66, was up 2 points from the second-quarter value and 1996's level. Prospective buyer traffic had an index value of 46, which is 2 points above the second-quarter value but unchanged from 1996's third-quarter level. NAHB combines these separate indices into a single housing market index that mirrors the three components quite closely. In the third quarter, this index stood at 58, which is 2 points above the second-quarter level but unchanged from the value in 1996.

Source: National Association of Home Builders, Builders Economic Council Survey


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