The hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused not only physical and material damage to the country, but also adversely affected the economic growth in the third quarter.
However, experts believe that the growth in housing prices should soon stabilize the economy. It is expected that the restoration of buildings destroyed by hurricanes in Texas and Florida, will also provide improved performance in the fourth quarter.
The consumer confidence index (CCI) – demonstrates the reaction to this economic situation in the country, and expectations or uncertainty in the future.
Association the Conference Board on Tuesday reported that analysts expect the consumer confidence index fell to the level of 119.8 this month with 120.4 points in August, the highest figure for five months. The data also showed that consumer confidence in Texas and Florida «significantly decreased».
The second report, published on Tuesday, but the organization of the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller, showed that the aggregate index of housing prices in 20 cities rose by 5.8 percent in July compared to the previous year.
The index of housing prices — an indicator of the average level of prices of residential premises in the real estate market
In the third report on Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales declined 3.4 percent to 760,000 units a seasonally adjusted basis last month, the lowest level since December of 2016. When compared to the same period last year, the sales also have seen a decline of 1.2 percent.
What is the cause of the downturn in the real estate market?
Officials say the blame for the fall of the infamous hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
The first of these storms decreased sales of homes already owned, and also slowed down the construction of new residential buildings in Texas in August. In September, Irma covered Florida, reducing activity in the housing market.
The housing market began to experience hard times even before the US caught up with the hurricanes. The causes of the decline were the lack of homes available for sale, the shortage of skilled labor and suitable land for construction, as well as rising prices for construction materials.
In August sales of new private homes fell in the northeast and on the West, but in the Midwest they remained unchanged.
