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Economists expect data on July new home sales out Friday to be less than pretty.
New home sales are expected to fall 1.1 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 825,000 units, according to the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR.
The Commerce Department s monthly report is scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. EDT.
Sales of new homes tumbled 6.6 percent to an annual rate of 834,000 in June, the largest
monthly percentage drop since sales fell by 12.7 percent in January.
If July s new home sales match the forecast, they will be 14.9 percent below year-ago levels.
The housing market s troubles have been bad news for homebuilders. Toll Brothers Inc., the
nation s largest builder of luxury homes, said Wednesday third-quarter profit plunged nearly 85
percent as the housing downturn and credit worries triggered cancellations and hefty
writedowns.
Earlier in the week, Moody s Investors Services placed the credit ratings of three homebuilders -- Centex, Lennar and Pulte -- under review for possible credit rating downgrades. Lower ratings
typically mean a company will have to borrow at higher interest rates.
Moody s said the review will look at whether the builders will be able to reduce their respective
inventories of unsold homes. Most homebuilders overbuilt during the five-year housing boom
that ended two years ago. Nearly all have taken massive charges to write down the value of
unsold homes. |
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