Janet Yellen won’t be pleased with this month’s US home sales
Data from the National Association of Realtors shows existing home sales up from 4.59m to 4.65m in April, with the change in existing home sales up by 1.3 per cent.
Analysts at Investec said in a preview that these figures "are likely to take on additional significance this week following Janet Yellen’s comments regarding housing market softness."
As a result, this week’s new and existing home sales have become the centre of the economic calendar. According to data released on Friday, the pace of new home construction has rebounded.
Analysts had expected to see sales up by 2.2 per cent. So it's a pretty disappointing release. Despite that, Deutsche Bank's chief US economist, Joseph LaVorgna, sees the release as "providing further evidence that housing activity is rebounding" after the first quarter's weather-induced slowdown.
Tomorrow, data released by the Commerce Department will include figures new home sales for April. HSBC expect to see that "first-time homebuyers and lower income borrowers may be finding new homes unaffordable after the substantial increase in prices over the past two years."