Rocket Fuel Newsletter – Home prices up, consumer confidence down
A rise in home prices and a fall in consumer confidence spell trouble for new home sales.
Fuel up! 🚀
U.S. home prices continue to rise
U.S. house prices rose 4.5% over the prior year, up 1.4% from the third quarter of 2024, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index also showed continued growth in home prices across the country. The FHFA chart below shows that while home prices continue to rise, the rate at which they are rising is starting to slow.
Learn more:
- FHFA House Price Index News Release
- S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index
U.S. consumer confidence falls
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for February 2025 showed a sharp decline to 98.3, down 7 from January. This drop signifies a decrease in consumers' optimism regarding the short-term economic outlook, including job conditions and personal financial prospects.
Notably, the Present Situation Index fell to 136.5, while the Expectations Index decreased 9.3 points to 729, reflecting heightened concerns among consumers about economic conditions over the next 6 months.
Learn more:
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index
New residential sales drop
The U.S. Census Bureau's latest report on new residential sales shows a sharp drop in new home sales. New single-family home sales fell by 10.5% in January 2025, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000 units. This trend is attributed to rising home costs and lower consumer confidence in the housing market.
The report also shows an elevated new housing inventory with 495,000 new houses for sale (seasonally adjusted), representing a 9-month supply of new homes. If Econ 101 taught us anything, an over-supply and under-demand for new houses should bring new home prices down in the future, but one can only hope.
Read the full report here.
Staying ahead of the curve means constantly connecting with industry leaders and uncovering new opportunities. We’ll be at these key events, and we’d love to meet you there:
- March 11 – 12: Inman on Tour – Nashville, TN
- March 11 – 14: ICBA LIVE – Nashville, TN
Join us to network, share insights, and explore ways to grow your business in the evolving market. Don’t miss out – secure your spot and connect with us in person.
Last week’s puzzle was as close as it gets. Our top two solvers finished within one second of each other; our winner came in at 40 seconds, narrowly beating second place’s time of 41 seconds.
This week’s puzzle gets 2 Rockets out of 5.
Good luck!