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QUOTE OF
THE WEEK... "Life is like the
ocean, it goes up and down." --Vanessa Paradis, French singer, model,
and actress
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... Life in the housing market sure mimicked the ocean last week. Let's start with the up part. New single-family home sales blasted up 18.0% in August, reaching a solid 504,000 unit annual rate. These sales are now 33% ahead of where they were a year ago, hitting their highest level in more than six years and posting their biggest monthly jump in 22 years! Plus, the median price of new homes sold was up 8.0% versus a year ago. With all the torrid selling going on, the months' supply of new homes fell to 4.8, but inventories grew by 2,000 units although they're still quite low. Builders may now be inspired to improve that situation.
The week began, however, with the down part of life in the housing market. Existing Home Sales dipped 1.8% in August, to a 5.05 million unit annual rate. But, hey, this follows four months in a row of gains, showing that while existing home sales are not yet booming, they've clearly bounced off the bottom. The median price of an existing home slipped a tad in August, but is still up 4.8% from a year ago. Inventories dipped for the month, but that was after rising for seven months in a row. August also evidenced a big gain in existing home sales that include financing, versus all-cash deals, evidence of a growing mortgage market.
BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK...Spend 10 minutes a day on social media. People want real interaction online. Putting even a small amount of time into checking and answering customer questions can go a long way.
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... Life in the housing market sure mimicked the ocean last week. Let's start with the up part. New single-family home sales blasted up 18.0% in August, reaching a solid 504,000 unit annual rate. These sales are now 33% ahead of where they were a year ago, hitting their highest level in more than six years and posting their biggest monthly jump in 22 years! Plus, the median price of new homes sold was up 8.0% versus a year ago. With all the torrid selling going on, the months' supply of new homes fell to 4.8, but inventories grew by 2,000 units although they're still quite low. Builders may now be inspired to improve that situation.
The week began, however, with the down part of life in the housing market. Existing Home Sales dipped 1.8% in August, to a 5.05 million unit annual rate. But, hey, this follows four months in a row of gains, showing that while existing home sales are not yet booming, they've clearly bounced off the bottom. The median price of an existing home slipped a tad in August, but is still up 4.8% from a year ago. Inventories dipped for the month, but that was after rising for seven months in a row. August also evidenced a big gain in existing home sales that include financing, versus all-cash deals, evidence of a growing mortgage market.
BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK...Spend 10 minutes a day on social media. People want real interaction online. Putting even a small amount of time into checking and answering customer questions can go a long way.
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