New home sales spiked 17.5% MoM in Dec, eclipsing the 3.5% median expectation. But, there’s always a but, the gain was led by a 70% jump in new home sales in the West. Every other region was flat. So all it took was a pop from 4,000 sales to (hold your breath) 7,000 sales in Dec in the West to generate a seasonally adjusted 17.5% annualized surge in new housing activity. Don’t uncork the champagne yet!
Tag Archives: MoM
Surged MoM
Yes, building permits surged a pleasant 17% MoM in December. But consider that a 1-month wonder due to a builder rush to get applications in ahead of building code changes that were going into effect on 1/1/11 in NY, PA and CA. This is why permits soared 81% in the Northeast (courtesy of NY and PA) and 44% in West (thank you CA!!!) while in the rest of the country (Midwest and South) building permits sagged 5%.