|
HOUSING MARKETING
 Home Sales*
Sales of new single-family homes totaled 940,000 units at a seasonally
adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in the first quarter of 2000, up a statistically
insignificant 4 percent from the previous quarter and up a statistically
insignificant 5 percent from the first quarter of 1999. The number of
new homes for sale at the end of March 2000 was 322,000 units, up a statistically
insignificant 1 percent from the last quarter and up 8 percent from the
first quarter of 1999. At the end of March, inventories represented a
4.1 months' supply at the current sales rate, down a statistically insignificant
5 percent from the end of the previous quarter and unchanged from the
first quarter of 1999. Sales of existing single-family homes for the first
quarter of 2000 reported by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
totaled 4,680,000 (SAAR), down 7 percent from the fourth quarter of 1999
and down 10 percent from the first quarter of 1999. The number of units
for sale at the end of the first quarter was 1,340,000, 11 percent below
the previous quarter and 36 percent below the first quarter of 1999. At
the end of the first quarter, a 3.3 months' supply of units remained,
6 percent below the previous quarter and 31 percent below the first quarter
of 1999.
*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® |
 Home Prices
The median price of new homes during the first quarter of 2000 was
$162,000, down a statistically insignificant 2 percent from the previous
quarter's level but above the first quarter of 1999 by 3 percent. The
average price of new homes sold during the first quarter of 2000 was
$199,600, down a statistically insignificant 3 percent the fourth quarter
of 1999 but up 6 percent from the first quarter a year ago. The price
adjusted to represent a constant-quality house was $185,800, up a statistically
insignificant 1 percent from the fourth quarter of 1999 and up a statistically
insignificant 2 percent from the first quarter of 1999. 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 first quarter
of 2000 was $133,400, unchanged from the previous quarter but 3 percent
above the same quarter a year ago, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF REALTORS®. The average price of existing homes was $169,300,
up 1 percent from the previous quarter and up 5 percent from the first
quarter of 1999.
**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® |
 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 first quarter
of 2000 shows that families earning the median income have 131.1 percent
of the income needed to purchase the median-priced existing home. This
figure is down 3 percent from the revised fourth quarter 1999 index
and down 10 percent from the first quarter of 1999.
The first quarter decline in the housing affordability index is the
result of changes in the marketplace. The national average home mortgage
interest rate for existing single-family homes has risen 36 basis points
from the previous quarter to an interest rate of 8.02 percent. The median
price of existing single-family homes increased slightly by 0.2 percent
in the first quarter. The median family income rose 1 percent during
the first quarter of 2000.
The fixed-rate index decreased 2 percent from the revised fourth quarter
1999 index and was down 11 percent from the first quarter of 1999.
Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® |
 Apartment
Absorptions
There were 57,200 new, unsubsidized, unfurnished multifamily (5 or more
units in structure) rental apartments completed in the fourth quarter
of 1999, down a statistically insignificant 14 percent from the previous
quarter but up 17 percent from the fourth quarter of 1998. Of the apartments
completed in the fourth quarter of 1999, 74 percent were rented within
3 months. This absorption rate is a statistically insignificant 3 percent
above the previous quarter and a statistically insignificant 1 percent
above the same quarter in the previous year. The median asking rent for
apartments completed in the fourth quarter was $784, which is a statistically
insignificant 2 percent above the previous quarter and a statistically
insignificant 3 percent above 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 |
 Manufactured
(Mobile) Home Placements
Manufactured homes placed on site ready for occupancy in the fourth quarter
of 1999 totaled 267,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, a statistically
insignificant 1 percent below the level of the previous quarter and 29
percent below the fourth quarter of 1998. The number of homes for sale
on dealers' lots at the end of the fourth quarter totaled 131,000 units,
6 percent above the previous quarter and 44 percent above the same quarter
of 1998. The average sales price of the units sold in the fourth quarter
was $46,200, 6 percent above the previous quarter and a statistically
insignificant 2 percent above the fourth-quarter 1998 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 |
 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 first-quarter value for the index of current market
activity for single-family detached houses stood at 75, down 4 points
from the fourth quarter and down 5 points from 1999's first quarter. The
index for future sales expectations, 73, was down 8 points from the fourth-quarter
value and down 5 points from 1999's level. Prospective buyer traffic had
an index value of 47, which is down 3 points from the fourth-quarter value
and down 8 points from 1999's first-quarter level. NAHB combines these
separate indices into a single housing market index that mirrors the three
components quite closely. In the first quarter, this index stood at 67,
which is down 5 points from the fourth-quarter level and down 6 points
from the value in 1999.
Source: National Association of Home Builders,
Builders Economic Council Survey |
|
