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HOUSING MARKETING
 Home Sales*
Sales of new single-family homes totaled 990,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in the first quarter of 2001, up a statistically insignificant 5 percent from the previous quarter and up 7 percent from the first quarter of 2000. The number of new homes for sale at the end of March 2001 was 297,000 units, down a statistically insignificant 5 percent from the last quarter and down 7 percent from the first quarter of 2000. At the end of March, inventories represented a 3.6 months' supply at the current sales rate, down a statistically insignificant 3 percent from the end of the previous quarter and down 12 percent from the first quarter of 2000.
Sales of existing single-family homes for the first quarter of 2001 reported by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® totaled 5,277,000 (SAAR), up 3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2000 and up 2 percent from the first quarter of 2000. The number of units for sale at the end of the first quarter was 1,580,000, 15 percent above the previous quarter and 26 percent above the first quarter of 2000. At the end of the first quarter, a 3.5 months' supply of units remained, 6 percent above the previous quarter and 21 percent above the first quarter of 2000.
*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 2001 declined to $166,000, down 4 percent from the previous quarter but was above the first quarter of 2000 by 1 percent. The average price of new homes sold during the first quarter of 2001 was $208,900, down a statistically insignificant 2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2000 but up a statistically insignificant 3 percent from the first quarter of a year ago.
The median price of existing single-family homes in the first quarter of 2001 was $139,700, unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2000 but 4 percent above the same quarter a year ago, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The average price of existing homes was $176,700, unchanged from the previous quarter but up 4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2000.
**This change is not statistically significant.
1 The quarterly data series for the "constant-quality house" has been discontinued by the Bureau of the Census. Annual data is still being published. The values for the set of physical characteristics used for the constant-quality house have been revised based on a 1996 base year. |
 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 2001 shows that families earning the median income have 142.8 percent of the income needed to purchase the median-priced existing home. This figure is up 7 percent from the fourth-quarter 2000 index and up 9 percent from the first quarter of 2000.
The first-quarter increase 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 declined 60 basis points from the previous quarter to an interest rate of 7.21 percent, while the median price of existing single-family homes decreased 0.3 percent in the first quarter. The median family income rose 1 percent during the first quarter of 2001. The first quarter average mortgage rate dropped below 7.50 percent, the lowest rate in more than a year.
The fixed-rate index increased 8 percent from the fourth-quarter 2000 index and was up 11 percent from the first quarter of 2000.
Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® |
 Apartment
Absorptions
There were 53,700 new, unsubsidized, unfurnished, multifamily (5 or more units in structure) rental apartments completed in the fourth quarter of 2000, down 19 percent from the previous quarter and down a statistically insignificant 8 percent from the fourth quarter of 1999. Of the apartments completed in the fourth quarter of 2000, 68 percent were rented within 3 months. This absorption rate is 7 percent below the previous quarter and 7 percent below the same quarter in the previous year. The median asking rent for apartments completed in the fourth quarter was $856, which is a statistically insignificant 2 percent above the previous quarter and a statistically insignificant 8 percent above a year earlier. There were 226,100 apartments completed in all of 2000, and 72 percent were rented within 3 months. These rates are unchanged from the previous year. The median asking price in 2000 was $839, an increase of 6 percent from 1999.
*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 onsite ready for occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2000 totaled 210,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, 17 percent below the level of the previous quarter and 26 percent below the fourth quarter of 1999. The number of homes for sale on dealers' lots at the end of the fourth quarter totaled 105,000 units, 7 percent below the previous quarter and 12 percent below the same quarter of 1999. The average sales price of the units sold in the fourth quarter was $48,700, a statistically insignificant 3 percent above the previous quarter and a statistically insignificant 6 percent above the fourth-quarter 1999 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 BuildersTM (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 62, down 6 points from the fourth quarter and down 13 points from 2000's first quarter. The index for future sales expectations, 64, was down 5 points from the fourth-quarter value and down 9 points from 2000's level. Prospective buyer traffic had an index value of 41, which is down 4 points from the fourth-quarter value and down 6 points from 2000'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 57, which is down 5 points from the fourth-quarter level and down 10 points from the value in 2000.
Source: National Association of Home Builders,
Builders Economic Council Survey |
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