Bidenflation: New Home Sales Unexpectedly Plunge 6.6%
Sales of new homes unexpectedly plunged in June, the third straight month of falling sales.
New home sales fell 6.6 percent in the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 units, the Commerce Department reported Monday. That followed a 7.7 percent sales decline in May and a 10.1 percent decline in April.
Economists had forecast sales to rise 3.4 percent. The previous three months were also revised lower.
The median price of a new home sold in May was $361,800, up 6.1 percent from a year ago but the lowest since November.
A shortage of homes on the market and rising costs for materials such as lumber and also higher labor costs are fueling higher prices. This appears to be putting homes out of reach of some buyers.
Sales were down 27.9 percent in the Northeast, the smallest market for new homes, to 31,000. They fell 7.8 percent in the South, by far the largest market, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 367,000. Sales fell 5.1 percent in the West to 186,000. Sales climbed in the Midwest to
The seasonally‐adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June was 353,000, the highest in over a year. This represents a supply of 6.3 months at the current sales rate. This is also the highest in over a year. The normal range is between four to 6 months, so this is slightly above average. The all-time low was set during a three months period of last August through October when supply sat at just 3.5 months. Supply has been rising for four months now.
Mortgage rates have fallen sharply in July, which could spur more home buying.
The report on new homes followed news last week that sales of existing homes rose 1.4 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.86 million units with the median price of an existing home hitting a record high of $363,300, up 23.4 percent from a year ago.
–The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Gallup: Joe Biden Registers Lowest Approval Rating of His Presidency
President Joe Biden’s approval rating is now at the lowest point of his presidency according to a new poll released by Gallup.
The poll, taken from July 6-21 shows that Biden has a 50 percent approval rating, down six points from a 56 percent rating in June.
Ninety percent of Democrats approved of Biden’s presidency while only 12 percent of Republicans felt the same way. Forty-eight percent of independents approved of Biden’s handling of the White House.
The president has enjoyed high ratings for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and overseeing the distribution of vaccinations.
Biden now faces questions about his policies as Americans are experiencing growing inflation. The country also faces growing fears about the delta variant of the coronavirus spreading across the country, even infecting vaccinated Americans.
The president also has yet to deliver on a bipartisan infrastructure deal, as negotiations between Republicans and Democrats continue in the Senate. Other issues of concern include the growing number of migrants crossing uninhibited across the Southern border.
Poll: American Optimism of Country’s Direction Falls Nearly 20 Points
Months into Joe Bidens’ presidency, Americans’ optimism regarding the direction of the country has dropped nearly 20 points, a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found.
ABC News reported on Sunday:
A majority — 55% — of the public say they are pessimistic about the direction of the country, a marked change from the roughly one-third (36%) that said the same in an ABC News/Ipsos poll published May 2. In the early May survey, Americans were more optimistic than pessimistic by a 28-percentage point margin. Optimism is now under water by 10 points. Looking ahead to the next 12 months, fewer than half — 45% — now report feeling optimistic about the way things are going, a significant drop from about two-thirds (64%) in the May poll.
The decrease in optimism has occurred among Democrats, Republicans, and independents.
“Optimism is down about 20 points among Democrats and Republicans and down 26 points among independents. Among Democrats, about 7 in 10 (71%) now say they are optimistic about the direction of the country over the next 12 months,” the outlet said.
Breitbart News reported Friday Biden’s approval rating was at the lowest point of his presidency, according to a poll from Gallup.
“The poll, taken from July 6-21 shows that Biden has a 50 percent approval rating, down six points from a 56 percent rating in June,” the outlet continued:
Biden now faces questions about his policies as Americans are experiencing growing inflation. The country also faces growing fears about the delta variant of the coronavirus spreading across the country, even infecting vaccinated Americans. The president also has yet to deliver on a bipartisan infrastructure deal, as negotiations between Republicans and Democrats continue in the Senate. Other issues of concern include the growing number of migrants crossing uninhibited across the Southern border.
Meanwhile, reducing crime and promoting a strong economy needed to be priorities for Biden, a Thursday poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found.
“Seventy-one percent of the American population believe promoting economic growth, the opposite of inflation, should be the highest priority for the Biden administration,” according to Breitbart News.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll was performed July 23 through 24, 2021, among a random national sample of 527 adults. The results have a margin of sampling error with 5.0 points, which included the design effect.
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