| Page 2 of 2 < |
Consumer Confidence Posts Gains in June
Meanwhile, Tuesday's report on declining sales of existing homes reconfirmed beliefs that the economy was moderating but remains strong. The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes declined by 1.2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.67 million units. The weakness was led by a big drop in demand in the Northeast.
Analysts were expecting a drop of 2.1 percent in existing home sales for the month.
  A workman enters a new KB home nearing completion in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, June 26, 2006. The Commerce Department reported Monday, that sales of new single-family homes increased by 4.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.234 million units. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) (Rich Pedroncelli - AP) Save & Share |
Saving options
The report said that the median price of the homes sold in May rose to $230,000 in May, up 6 percent from the same month a year ago. That reflected a slowdown from big double-digit price gains last year at the peak of the housing boom.
The Conference Board index _ derived from responses received through June 20 to a survey mailed to 5,000 households in a consumer research panel _ showed that consumers are still uneasy about the job market. The figures released Tuesday include responses from at least 2,500 households.
Consumers' current assessment of the labor market conditions were mixed. Consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 28.1 percent from 29.1 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" declined to 19.9 percent from 20.2 percent.
The outlook for the labor market was somewhat rosier. Those expecting more jobs to become available in the next six months increased to 15.6 percent from 14.8 percent in May. Those expecting fewer jobs fell to 17.0 percent from 18.0 percent.
____
On the Net: