National Data

HOUSING MARKETING

iconHome 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.


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*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®


iconHome 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.


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**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®


iconHousing 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.


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Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®


iconApartment 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.


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*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


iconManufactured (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.


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*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


iconBuilders' 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.


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


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