Sales Pace

Sales of U.S.-built cars held steady in mid-December, the companies reported Wednesday, but the results were off 17.7% in comparison to the strong 1986 period when sales were boosted by a rush of tax-conscious buyers. The eight major domestic auto manufacturers reported sales of 154,148 vehicles in the Dec. 11-21 period, down from 210,654 vehicles in the previous year.

With most of the major automakers having reported their U.S. sales for February it looks like the industry posted its best annualized sales rate in four years. Most estimates place the sales rate north of 14.5 million vehicles and possibly up to 15 million vehicles. Automakers and analysts credit an improving economy, easier consumer credit and people replacing aged vehicles after delaying purchases through the recent recession. But some are asking if the robust pace of the last month will continue.

The local housing market, as yet unable to shed its lackluster performance this year, posted its third straight monthly decline in March with a 16% drop in resales of single-family houses and condominiums, the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors said Monday. The board said 736 single-family houses and condominiums changed hands last month, down from 878 in March, 1992. The drop followed consecutive 7% year-to-year declines in the first two months of this year.

More people closed deals on home purchases in October than economists expected, driving down the number of homes available for sale to an eight-month supply. Existing-home sales rose 1.4% from the previous month and were 13.5% above the same month a year earlier. Each month, the National Assn. of Realtors reports the figures in the form of an annual sales pace adjusted for seasonal variations. Last month's pace was 4.97 million, the group reported. Regionally, sales were up 4.4% in the West over the previous month, up 2.1% in the South, up 2.8% in the Midwest and down 5.1% in the Northeast.

Sales of homes in Southern California slumped for a third consecutive month in September but prices ticked up, underscoring a weak but stable real estate market headed into the traditionally slow fall and winter months. Sales of newly built and previously owned houses, town homes and condominiums fell 2.4% from August and 16% from the same month last year, according to real estate research firm MDA DataQuick of San Diego. A total of 18,091 homes were sold last month in the region.

A glut of troubled homes not yet on the market threatens to prolong a housing slump already burdened by weak job growth and a lack of enthusiasm among buyers. This so-called shadow inventory amounted to 1.8 million properties at the end of January, Santa Ana mortgage research firm CoreLogic reported Wednesday. While that was a decrease from 2 million properties in January 2010, it remained about a nine-month supply because the sales pace has weakened this year in the absence of federal tax credits for buyers.

National home sales jumped 12.3% from November to December, a positive sign for the housing market, although the sales pace remained below the level reached during the same period a year earlier. The National Assn. of Realtors said Thursday that previously owned U.S. houses and condominiums sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million units last month. While an increase from November, that was still 2.9% below the December 2009 pace. The expiration of a tax credit for buyers halfway through last year depleted sales substantially.

Sales of existing homes jumped 7% in August to an annual rate of 3.69 million units, the fastest sales pace of this decade, a real estate trade group reported today. The National Assn. of Realtors said its monthly survey found that declines in mortgage rates helped spur sales in August following a smaller 1.8% increase in July. The increase pushed the annual rate of sales to its highest level since October, 1979, when a pace of 3.77 million units was recorded.

The increase of existing single-family home sales put them at their highest level in more than five years, the California Assn. of Realtors said. April's seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 496,500 units was up from March's 391,721-unit pace and was 14.6% higher than the 433,266-unit rate of a year earlier. April's sales pace was the fastest since October, 1980.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped 6.8% in March, a bright spot for the struggling housing market after three consecutive months of decline. The increase reported Thursday by the National Assn. of Realtors in Washington appeared to indicate the arrival of the spring surge that real estate agents have been counting on to buoy sales this year. But it remains to be seen whether the momentum can be sustained after a federal tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for some current homeowners expires next week.

The automobile industry looks to post another good sales month in October, according to early projections. Auto research company J.D. Power and & Associates estimates an annual industry sales pace of 13.1 million vehicles for the month, about the same as September and a big jump from earlier in the year. Economists say such a rate is an encouraging sign that the economy is not slipping back into recession. J.D. Power based its estimate on transaction data from more than 8,900 retail franchisees, or about half the dealerships in the United States.

After being buffeted by wild stock market gyrations, unsettling economic news and Hurricane Irene, automakers are looking for some relief this Labor Day weekend — and that could mean good deals for consumers. The industry believes sales will quicken in September, bolstered by growing inventories of cars that were in short supply for much of the summer, bigger discounts and an economy that looks less likely to fall back into recession. "Marketing and incentive focus has already shifted to September with the upcoming Labor Day weekend, so with improved inventory, the sales pace could show marked improvement," said Jeff Schuster, an analyst with J.D. Power and Associates.

U.S. sales of new homes posted their second solid monthly gain in April after hitting extremely low levels in February, according to data released Tuesday by the Commerce Department. In April, sales rose 7.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 323,000 after an 8.3% increase in March, the Commerce Department reported. The increase surprised economists, who had forecast a slight decline to 295,000, according to a MarketWatch survey. Sales gains took place in all four regions.

A glut of troubled homes not yet on the market threatens to prolong a housing slump already burdened by weak job growth and a lack of enthusiasm among buyers. This so-called shadow inventory amounted to 1.8 million properties at the end of January, Santa Ana mortgage research firm CoreLogic reported Wednesday. While that was a decrease from 2 million properties in January 2010, it remained about a nine-month supply because the sales pace has weakened this year in the absence of federal tax credits for buyers.

National home sales jumped 12.3% from November to December, a positive sign for the housing market, although the sales pace remained below the level reached during the same period a year earlier. The National Assn. of Realtors said Thursday that previously owned U.S. houses and condominiums sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million units last month. While an increase from November, that was still 2.9% below the December 2009 pace. The expiration of a tax credit for buyers halfway through last year depleted sales substantially.

New-home sales rose 5.5% in November from the previous month, the second encouraging indication this week that the housing market is showing signs of stability. The Commerce Department said Thursday that newly built single-family homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 290,000 units in November. That was slightly less than what economists polled by Bloomberg News had expected, and sales were 21.2% below November 2009. The report followed news Wednesday that sales of previously owned homes, which make up the bulk of the U.S. housing market, also improved in November over the previous month.

The automobile industry looks to post another good sales month in October, according to early projections. Auto research company J.D. Power and & Associates estimates an annual industry sales pace of 13.1 million vehicles for the month, about the same as September and a big jump from earlier in the year. Economists say such a rate is an encouraging sign that the economy is not slipping back into recession. J.D. Power based its estimate on transaction data from more than 8,900 retail franchisees, or about half the dealerships in the United States.

More people closed deals on home purchases in October than economists expected, driving down the number of homes available for sale to an eight-month supply. Existing-home sales rose 1.4% from the previous month and were 13.5% above the same month a year earlier. Each month, the National Assn. of Realtors reports the figures in the form of an annual sales pace adjusted for seasonal variations. Last month's pace was 4.97 million, the group reported. Regionally, sales were up 4.4% in the West over the previous month, up 2.1% in the South, up 2.8% in the Midwest and down 5.1% in the Northeast.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes last month rose 5.6% over the previous month but remained considerably weaker than the brisk pace set last year, when tax credits for buyers fueled the market. The National Assn. of Realtors said homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.7 million houses and condominiums. Although up from October, the number was a 27.9% drop from November 2009. The industry group said 33% of the homes sold in November were distressed sales. These include foreclosures and short sales, in which banks agree to sell homes for less than the value of the mortgages on them.

Demand for a range of long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly fell last month and a gauge of business spending plans also dropped, underscoring the economic recovery's tepid pace. Another report Wednesday from the Commerce Department showed new-home sales continued to bounce along the bottom, leaving intact expectations in financial markets that the Federal Reserve would ease monetary policy further next week. "You are seeing a convergence in the different sectors of the economy around the slow-growth scenario," said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International in New York.