Pending Home Sales Index

The latest pending home sales statistics suggest modest near-term movement in existing-home sales, with a recovery in sales seen during the second half of the year.
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Existing-Home Sales

Posted 4.99 million seasonally adjusted annualized units in May – a 2.0% increase from April’s level. Resales rose in all regions but the South, and even there they were only down 0.5%. The national median home price for an existing home was $208,600, down 6.3% compared to a year ago.
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New-Home Sales

Declined 2.5% in May to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 512,000 units. April’s figure was revised downward to 525,000 units. Sales of new homes are off 40.3% compared to the pace in May 2007. The supply of new homes available for sale rose slightly to a 10.9 months supply.
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Housing Starts

Slipped 3.3% in May, posting a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 975,000 units. Both single-family and multi-family units fell, but multifamily units are up compared to their year-ago level. Housing permits, generally a reliable indicator of future starts, fell for single-family units while posting a mild increase for multifamily units.
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Housing Affordability

Slipped in May. NAR’s Housing Affordability Index stood at 125.4 for the month, down from the 130.6 reading in April. The decline was due in large part to increases in most of the components of the index, including a month-to month rise in the median home price, as well as increases in mortgage rates and qualifying income. Even so, May’s index is still well above the 110.4 posted in May 2007
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Mortgage Rates

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped 28 basis points in June to 6.32%. Rates are at their highest level since since October 2007. But relatively low mortgage rates and weak home prices have been fueling local home sales in some markets such as those in California and Florida. Mortgage rates are expected to rise in the second half of the year, although at a steady level.
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Employment

The U.S. economy shed 62,000 payroll jobs in June – the sixth straight month of job losses. April and May job figures were revised and showed more job losses than previously registered. Construction jobs have borne the brunt of job cuts, losing more jobs than any other sector over the past 12 months.  Bright employment spots included health care, education, government, mining (from the commodity boom), and leisure/hospitality sectors all of which posted job gains.
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Economic Growth

Despite ongoing job cuts, the U.S. economy did grow in the first quarter of 2008, posting a GDP growth rate of 1.0% for the quarter. The figure is an upward revision from a previous estimate of 0.9%. This is the third and final revision of GDP growth based on more complete data. For comparison, real GDP increased 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2007. The increase reflects increased spending for services, exports of goods and services, and federal government spending.
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