U.S. Economic News
April 23, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
New home sales rose 4.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 692,000 in March, and are 3.0% above the March 2018 rate. The median sales price fell to $302,700 and the inventory of new homes edged down to 6.0 months at the current sales rate. Census Bureau Report
The FHFA House Price Index shows that U.S. house prices rose 0.3% in February and were up 4.9% from year-ago levels. Year-over-year house price changes were positive in all nine census divisions. FHFA Report
U.S. News
Anne Tergesen of the Wall Street Journal reports that American workers’ and retirees’ confidence in their retirement finances has risen to all-time highs due to a strong economy and high stock prices. The annual survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 82% of retirees and 67% of workers are optimistic about their ability to live comfortably in retirement, up from 75% and 64% last year. WSJ