Used Housing Stock Sales High in USA

2012 started out better than many had expected, but then lived-down to expectations as global demand stalled and debt worries persisted, most notably within the Eurozone. As 2012 draws to a close, some better news has come out of the US economy which suggests that things may be improving.

The sales of existing property (i.e. not new built) have risen to the highest level seen in the USA for three years, data released for November show. The seasonally adjusted figure for November came in just above the five million mark; a 5.9% rise. The National Association of Realtors who compiled the data suggested that it represented “healthy demand” within the sector; however, the figure is still two million sales below the pre-recession crisis figure of 7 million seen in the middle of 2005. Nonetheless, the figure is the ninth consecutive increase in the year-on-year monthly comparison which does point towards a sustained recovery.

The performance of the USA in Q3 2012 was revised upwards as more data has become available. The previous mark of 2.7% has been increased to 3.1% by the Commerce Department, but most analysts are anticipating that Q4 figures will be weaker. Consumer spending rose by 1.6% on an annualised basis which is also a positive indicator. Something like 70% of American output is consumed within the domestic market.

The US economy has managed to put more people back into work this year and unemployment last month (well, the number of people counted as being actively seeking work…) to 7.7% of the workforce. The high tide mark of unemployment in this economic cycle was 10.1% which was seen in October 2011. The long-term unemployment average for the USA is about 5%, so considerably more Americans are currently idle than one would expect from statistical data.