Strategy in TECH...
Data released on Friday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed that sales of newly constructed homes actually increased in May. At the same time, the National Association of Realtors released new data on pending home sales which also showed a surprise jump in contracts in May.
What’s going on? Is the housing market mounting a comeback?
Sales of newly constructed homes virtually collapsed in April in a double-digit decline that surprised economists and added to the growing evidence that the housing market is entering a downturn. This downturn in housing adds to growing concerns of a recession, as it comes on the heels of the tech industry decline, and new retailer warnings of slackening demand and supply chain driven cost increases.
After a spectacular run in 2020, it looks as though housing may be taking a pause to regroup. Strata-gee reported last week that residential construction starts had dropped by 10.3% in February. Now we learn that sales of newly built single-family homes have also dropped in February, this time by a scary 18.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 775,000 units. On top of that, existing home sales also dropped in February, coming in at 6.22 million units or 6.6% off of January’s rate.
