New single-family home sales fell in February, but a jump in prices to their highest level in eight months kept hopes alive of a recovery in the housing market.
COMMENTS:
DOUG ROBERTS, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, CHANNEL CAPITAL RESEARCH.COM,SHREWSBURY, NEW JERSEY
"At this point everybody is assuming that we are in for a V-shaped recovery and although we have had some stabilization we still have problems, we still have plenty of inventory out there and it's not like the market is going to take off anytime soon."
FRED DICKSON, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, D.A. DAVIDSON & CO. LAKE OSWEGO, OREGON
"The housing data has looked weak, and (that's) maybe not a surprise. It doesn't appear weather should have been a factor because it was warmer that usual in most of the country. I'm wondering if first-time home buyers are kind of hanging back to see how prices shake out."
NEIL DUTTA, ECONOMIST, BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH, NEW YORK
"This is painting a story about a housing market that's on its back. It's indicative of a housing market that is still quite weak. There are more foreclosures so new homes are at a competitive disadvantage. People are going to go for a deal. This could have implications on single-family home construction. This throws cold water on the idea that the U.S. housing market is on the verge of a sustainable turn."
ROB MORGAN, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST AT FULCRUM SECURITIES IN PHILADELPHIA
"Looks like the number is pretty much in line, so this won't have much of an impact on trading. Lately we've seen housing starts, existing home sales and new home sales all pretty much in line, or slightly under. At the same time permits hit a two and a half year high, but the market took that as a negative, and rightfully so since we have such a glut of unsold homes. We're continuing to get mixed messages out of the housing market. Even though these numbers are in line, they're well short of what a healthy market would be."
DAVID SLOAN, ECONOMIST, IFR ECONOMICS, A UNIT OF THOMSON REUTERS
"February new home sales with a 1.6% decline to 313k fell short of a 325k market expectation and the decline looks consistent with a modest disappointment in the February existing home sales release. New home sales continue to struggle to develop the upward momentum that had been hinted at in NAHB data through February, though this release does contain upward revisions to November and December, outweighing a downward revision to January. Price data was positive, and while this data is very erratic it is consistent with a return to growth in yr/yr existing home sale prices."
MARKET REACTION
STOCKS: U.S. stocks fall to session lows.
BONDS: U.S. Treasury debt prices add to gains, pushing benchmark 10-year yields slightly below their 200-day moving average. The 30-year long bond extended gains, trading 1 point higher on the day.
FOREX: The dollar extends its losses versus the yen.
SOURCE Reuters
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US New Home Sales Fall 1.6% In Feb, Prices Rise To 8-Month High
