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In the News 
June showed a significant bounce back in the real estate market where new home sales are concerned, but we still have a long way to go before real estate watchers can feel optimistic. Sales of new, single-family homes during June were up 23.6 percent, according to figures released last week from the Census Bureau. Overall, June's new home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 330,000, compared to May's revised rate of 267,000.
That said, June's increase comes after May's massive 32.7 percent decline, the worst on record since 1963 (when the agency began tracking new home sales), making June the second-worst month on record.
On the upside, the median sales price for new homes sold in June was $213,400, and the average sales price was $242,900. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June was 210,000, which represents a supply of 7.6 months at the current sales rate.
"If there's a bright spot, it's that new home inventories remain extraordinarily lean," Michael D. Larson, an interest rate and housing analyst with Weiss Research, told the Los Angeles Times. "We have fewer houses looking for buyers than we've had at any point in the last 42 years."
Meanwhile, consumer confidence decreased in July, following June's lackluster trend. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for July, released last week, stands at 50.4, down from 54.3 in June. Similarly, the Present Situation Index, a gauge of how consumers feel about general business and employment conditions, decreased to 26.1 from 26.8. The Expectations Index, which describes how consumers feel about business conditions in the near future, declined in July to 66.6 from 72.7 June.
"Consumer confidence faded further in July as consumers continue to grow increasingly more pessimistic about the short-term outlook," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "Concerns about business conditions and the labor market are casting a dark cloud over consumers that is not likely to lift until the job market improves. Given consumers' heightened level of anxiety, along with their pessimistic income outlook and lackluster job growth, retailers are very likely to face a challenging back-to-school season."
This week, watch the news for headlines on personal income and consumption (August 3) from the Bureau of Economic Analysis; construction spending (August 2) and factory orders (August 3) from the Census Bureau; car and truck sales (August 3) from the auto manufacturers; non-farm payrolls (August 6) and the average workweek (August 6) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; and consumer credit (August 6) from the Federal Reserve.
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| Mark Ott | | Loan Officer | | W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital Corp. | | Office: 928-775-9330 | | NMLS: 189552 | | mark.ott@wjbradley.com | | www.wjbradleyaz.com | 
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