A Snapshot of Monthly Housing Indicators
Updated March 6, 2009

Pending Home Sales Index
Pending home sales showed a healthy gain in December. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, rose 6.3% to 87.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 82.5 in November. December’s gain in pending sales more than offset the decline in November’s index reading. December’s index also posted a year-over-year increase of 2.1%. Big gains in the South and Midwest offset modest declines in other regions.

Existing-Home Sales
Existing-home sales posted 4.74 million seasonally adjusted annualized units in December – a 6.5% increase from November’s pace. The latest rise in resales is only a partial rebound after a big tumble in November. The inventory of existing homes available for sale fell notably – by 11.7% -- and at the end of December was at a 9.3 months supply at the current sales rate. The national median sales price for an existing home was $175,400 – 15.3% below that of a year ago. 

New-Home Sales
New home sales posted 331,000 seasonally adjusted annualized units in December. New home sales were off 13.9% from November’s pace and 44.8% below the pace in December 2007. The inventory of new homes available for sale rose in December, and at the end of the month was at a 12.9 month supply at the current (December) sales rate.

Housing Starts
Housing starts in December posted a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000 units. The rate is 15.5% below November’s and 45.0% below the December 2007 rate of 1 million units. For all of 2008, the Census Bureau estimates that 904,300 housing units (both single- and multi-family) were started – the annual total is 33.3% below the 1,355,000 housing starts in 2007.

Housing Affordability
Lower home prices continue to boost housing affordability for qualifying borrowers. NAR’s housing affordability index in December rose 10.9% to a reading of 158.8 – a sixth consecutive monthly increase and the highest index ever recorded.

Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates declined again in January. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage in January was 5.05%, compared with December’s average rate of 5.29%. Lower interest rates, combined with lower home prices and economic and housing stimulus policies, should help home sales activity.

Employment
Business payrolls dropped by 651,000 jobs in February, sending the U.S. jobless rate to 8.1 percent, the highest since 1983. The net loss of 651,000 jobs in February came after even deeper payroll reductions in the prior two months, according to revised figures released Friday, March 6. The economy lost 681,000 jobs in December and another 655,000 in January. 
    Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost an astounding 4.4 million jobs, more than half of which occurred in the past four months. Job losses were widespread in February. 
    Construction companies eliminated 104,000 jobs. Factories axed 168,000. Retailers cut nearly 40,000. Professional and business services got rid of 180,000, with 78,000 jobs lost at temporary-help agencies. Financial companies reduced payrolls by 44,000. Leisure and hospitality firms chopped 33,000 positions. The few areas spared: education and health services, as well as government, which boosted employment last month. (Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution, 3/6/09)

Economic Growth
The nation’s economy shrank by 3.8% (annualized) in the 4th quarter of 2008. This is the first estimate of 4th-quarter GDP growth. Consumer spending contracted sharply by 3.5% in the quarter following a similar cutback in the 3rd quarter. Business spending collapsed by more than 20 percent. Both imports and exports also declined at double-digit rates – not unusual during an economic downturn. One positive contributor to GDP was government spending – more spending is on the way as part of the stimulus package. 

Other Indicators
GDP - Down 3.9% from last Quarter
Consumer Confidence - Down .9% from a month ago
Consumer Price Index - Down .7% in December 
Producer Price Index - Up to .8% from the previous month
Retail Sales - Up 1% from the previous month

Source: National Association of REALTORS^® and Georgia Association of REALTORS^®