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ECONOMIC REPORT: U.S. August new home sales fall 9.9%; Record number of new homes for sale in August
By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
Last Update: 10:03 AM ET Sept. 27, 2005

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Sales of new U.S. homes dropped sharply in August, falling by 9.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.24 million, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting the pace of home sales to cool slightly in August, to 1.34 million units.

The supply of new homes on the market increased by 2.6% in August to a record 479,000, representing a five-month supply.

July's new home sales were revised, meanwhile, to 1.37 million from a record 1.41 million.

The median price of a new home in the U.S. ticked back upwards, to $220,300, after falling to $203,800 in July.

Sales of new homes in the Northeast took the biggest hit in August, dropping by 22% to 78,000, the Commerce Department said. Sales in the West also dropped sharply, by 18%, to 353,000. Midwestern sales declined by 11% to 194,000 and new home sales in the South fell by 2% to 612,000.

In a prior report, the National Association of Realtors said sales of previously owned homes rose 2.0% in August to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 7.29 million units.

This was well above the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists, who had expected previously owned home sales to slip to 7.11 million units in August.

10:00am 09/27/05 U.S. SEPT. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE LOWEST LEVEL SINCE OCT. 2003
10:00am 09/27/05 U.S. SEPT. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE BELOW CONSENSUS 94.9
10:00am 09/27/05 U.S. SEPT. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE FALLS TO 86.6 VS 105.5 AUG

10:00am 09/27/05 U.S. JULY NEW HOME SALES REVISED TO 1.37 MLN VS. 1.41 MLN
10:00am 09/27/05 U.S. AUGUST NEW HOMES SALES BELOW 1.34 MILLION FORECAST
10:00am 09/27/05 U.S. AUGUST NEW HOME SALES FALL 9.9% TO 1.24 MLN UNITS

ECONOMIC REPORT: Confidence plummets in September; Conference Board's lowest since Oct. 2003
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
Last Update: 10:00 AM ET Sept. 27, 2005

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer confidence took a big hit in September from Hurricane Katrina, the Conference Board said Tuesday.

The consumer confidence index fell to 86.6 in September from 105.5 in August.

This is the lowest level since October 2003.

The decline was larger than expected. Economists were expecting the index to decline to 94.9, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch.

Other consumer surveys, including the University of Michigan survey, have shown dramatic declines in consumer confidence because of Katrina.

Economists said it would be premature to conclude that consumer spending will follow confidence down. The key to the spending outlook are higher energy prices.

Fuel prices have remained high in the wake of Katrina and Hurricane Rita. This will curb spending in the short run, said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's consumer research center.

"As rebuilding efforts take hold and job growth gains momentum, consumers' confidence should rebound and return to more positive levels by year-end or early 2006," Franco said.

The present situation index fell to 108.9 from 123.8, while the expectations index slipped to 71.7 from 93.3.

The outlook for the labor market also soured. Those expecting fewer jobs in coming months increased to 25% in September, up from 17.3% in August. Those expecting more jobs to become available fell to 14% from 16.4% in the previous month.