Suitably Flip

Weakest New Home Sales In Recorded History

Malaisey number of the day:  300,000, down a whopping 32.7% from April's 446,000, which itself was revised down from the previous estimate of 504,000.

Economists were predicting a big drop, but not nearly so monstrous a plunge as this.  In the wake of the artificial government stimulus associated with the now-expired homebuyers' tax credit, we've thus emerged into what seems an even more anemic housing market.  May 2010 is now in the record books as the worst month for new home sales in the 47 years of record keeping.

Yes, the steep falloff is all the steeper because of planned transactions being shifted earlier in the year to take advantage of the tax credit, so the equilibrium rate is likely not quite so horrifying.  But if we take solace in that fact, we need to revise downward our interpretation of prior months' sales, recognizing their artificially inflated levels as nothing more than taxpayer-subsidized, time-shifted sales, yielding no visibly sustainable goosing of the housing market.

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Weakest New Home Sales In Recorded History

Malaisey number of the day:  300,000, down a whopping 32.7% from April's 446,000, which itself was revised down from the previous estimate of 504,000.

Economists were predicting a big drop, but not nearly so monstrous a plunge as this.  In the wake of the artificial government stimulus associated with the now-expired homebuyers' tax credit, we've thus emerged into what seems an even more anemic housing market.  May 2010 is now in the record books as the worst month for new home sales in the 47 years of record keeping.

Yes, the steep falloff is all the steeper because of planned transactions being shifted earlier in the year to take advantage of the tax credit, so the equilibrium rate is likely not quite so horrifying.  But if we take solace in that fact, we need to revise downward our interpretation of prior months' sales, recognizing their artificially inflated levels as nothing more than taxpayer-subsidized, time-shifted sales, yielding no visibly sustainable goosing of the housing market.