US: New home sales likely to decline by 1.3% in April – Nomura

Analysts at Nomura expect a 1.3% m-o-m decline in US new home sales to 685k saar in April.

Key Quotes

“Incoming data point to healthy consumer demand. Mortgage applications in April rose at a solid pace and home builders remained optimistic according to the NAHB home builder survey. Yet, the strong increases in the West (28.3% m-o-m) in March appear unsustainable and may have partly reverted back to trend in April. Moreover, weather in the Midwest, Northeast and South was colder than usual in April which may have dampened sales activity.”