MetroIntelligence Economic Update by P. DUFFY
September 2022 retail sales flat from August but up 8.2 percent year-on-year
September retail sales were flat from August but rose 8.2 percent year-on-year. However, since the September CPI also rose 8.2 percent year-on-year and 0.4 percent from August, consumers are struggling as wage gains aren’t keeping up with rising prices. Total sales for the July 2022 through September 2022 period were up 9.2 percent from the same period a year ago.
https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf
Consumer sentiment up 2.2 percent from September but down 16.6 percent year-on-year
Consumer sentiment is essentially unchanged at 1.2 index points above September, in spite of a 23% improvement in current buying conditions for durables owing to an easing in supply constraints. Sentiment is now 9.8 points above the all-time low reached in June, but this improvement remains tentative, as the expectations index declined by 3% from last month. The median expected year-ahead inflation rate rose to 5.1%, with increases reported across age, income, and education.
Redfin: Rising mortgage rates have prompted more listing price cuts
The median home-sale price was $367,621, up 7% year over year. Prices were essentially unchanged from the previous four-week period. The median asking price of newly listed homes increased 9% year over year to $379,725. That’s a 1% decrease from the previous four-week period. Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) fell 1% from the prior four-week period. On a year-over-year basis, they rose 3%. On average, a record high 7.9% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, up from 4% a year earlier.
https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-sales-new-listings-decline-slowdown/