Demand for big-ticket manufactured goods and new home sales both were better than expected in March, raising some hopes that the long slides in manufacturing and housing are slowly coming to an end. The Commerce Department says orders for durable goods dropped 0.8% last month, about half the 1.5% decline that economists expected. A rise in orders for commercial and military aircraft helped cushion weakness elsewhere. The small drop followed a 2.1% increase in orders in February. That was the first gain after six straight monthly declines.
New home sales fell 0.6% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 356,000 from an upwardly revised February rate of 358,000, the department said. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a sales pace of 340,000 units. February’s results were 6% higher than originally reported, but home sales last month were down nearly 31% from March 2008. The housing results fanned optimism that developers have slashed prices and construction enough that sales have finally hit bottom. Prices, however, are likely to remain weak for months as builders continue to clear out their stock of unsold homes.
