US: New home sales to decline 0.6% in September - Nomura

Analysts at Nomura expect a 0.6% m-o-m decline in US new home sales to 625k saar in September following a rebound in August which appears transitory.

Key Quotes

“New home sales increased strongly by 3.5% to 629k saar in August as sales in the Northeast rebounded sharply and sales activity in the West continued to recover after a slowdown in Q2. Some of the strong rebound in the Northeast will likely revert in September. Moreover, the landfall of Hurricane Florence in North Carolina and South Carolina may have disrupted sales activity in the South and pose some downside risk to the September report. However, considering a strong 2.9% m-o-m rebound in the volume of mortgage loan applications for purchase in September following a 7.2% decline in August, it is possible to see healthy sales activity in other regions.”