US new home sales are down, but not out and perked up a bit in December with the 3rd straight month of increases.
New home sales perked up a bit in December, Matt writes.
Why it matters: It’s another sign that after the sharp downturn in real estate activity over the last year, lower rates could reinvigorate the market.
Be smart: That’s a big difference from the housing bust of the mid-2000s when mortgage-related losses brought down a boatload of lenders — and recovery took years to achieve.
State of play: Sales of new homes rose 2.3% in December from the month before to an annualized rate of 616,000, according to government data out yesterday.
- It was the third straight monthly increase.
But, but, but: New home sales were still down 27% for the year.What they’re saying: “We do expect new home sales to remain under pressure through the first half of this year, but recent declines in mortgage rates, and incentives offered by homebuilders should prevent too steep of a drop,” Nancy Vanden Houten, an economist with Oxford Economics, wrote after yesterday’s data drop.
Axios Markets By Emily Peck and Matt Phillips · Jan 27, 2023