New single-family home sales in June declined 5.3% month to month vs. a 3.9% increase the month before. This is the lowest level since October 2017. Â The home sales numbers are in line with the general weakening in economic activity. The median selling price declined to the lowest in more than a year, adding to signs the housing market is getting more difficult.
Demand weakened in three of four U.S. regions, including a 7.7% drop in the South, the largest area. The decline in sales left 301,000 homes available nationwide in June, the most since March 2009. Sales fell 5.2% in the West and tumbled 13.4% in the Midwest. They surged 36.8% in the Northeast.
The Trump administration in April 2017 imposed anti-subsidy duties on imports of Canadian softwood lumber, which builders say have significantly raised the cost of a new home.
The combination of a difficult housing market and the imposition of tariffs on the automobile sector is very worrisome. It could easily generate a jump in unemployment, erasing all the gains made over the past few years.