Jobs Reports, Target Sales, and More!
Editor’s Note: Howdy, dear reader!
Let’s get to it.
The First Home Sale Growth in 5 Months
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sales of previously owned homes rose 1.3% in July to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 3.95 million units.
That marks the first gain in home sales in five months.
Still, on a year-over-year basis, sales were down by 2.5%.
“Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun wrote in a release. “But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates.”
Now, the contracts that led to these closed sales were likely finalized in May and June. At that time, mortgage rates for the standard 30-year fixed-rate loan were higher than 7%.
Despite this, people still bought homes.
In July, mortgage rates began lowering and are now around 6.5%.
It’s possible, then, that we’ll continue to see home sales increase as the lower rate effect starts kicking in.
According to the NAR, the supply of homes for sale also rose in July. By the end of last month, there were 1.33 million homes for sale — a monthly increase of 0.8% and a year-over-year growth of 19.8%.
However, the increase in homes for sale did not affect home prices. The median price for a preowned home in July was $442,600 — a 4.2% increase on a year-over-year basis.
Target Reports Wall Street-Beating Q2 Results
Target (NYSE: TGT) reported an earnings beat this week — thanks largely to its offering of lower-priced merchandise.
For the quarter, Target reported revenue of $25.45 billion, versus Wall Street expectations of $25.21 billion. A year ago, second-quarter revenue totaled $24.77 billion.
Earnings per share came in at $2.57, blowing away the $2.18 analysts had been expecting. Net income rose 40% year over year, from $835 million in the year-ago quarter to $1.19 billion.
Target also reported its first comparable sales growth in five quarters, with an uptick of 2%.
The company’s better-than-expected gains were due in no small part to digital sales. According to Target, digital sales — which include services such as home delivery and curbside pickup — rose 8.7% in the quarter.
By comparison, comparable sales at brick-and-mortar stores rose by 0.7%.
Target has been working hard to woo back cash-strapped customers. The company recently relaunched its loyalty rewards program and rolled out a paid membership, Target Circle 360, which offers quick free shipping. It’s part of an effort to compete with Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT), which offer similar membership programs.
In May, the discount retailer also reported that it would lower prices on roughly 5,000 household essentials.
However, despite the expectation-beating results, Target is hanging on to its full-year sales estimate of flat to 2% growth. However, the company issued a boost to its profit guidance. Previously, the company expected profits in a range of between $8.60 and $9.60 per share. Now target is expecting earnings per share of $9 to $9.70.
What’s Up With the Downward Jobs Revisions?
Every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reviews its March estimates for employment data against that of state unemployment insurance tax records. As a result, the BLS revises its report on job growth.
This week, the BLS reported that it had revised the March 2023 through March 2024 data to show a reduction of 818,000 fewer jobs added than previously estimated.
That’s about a 0.5% decrease in the total employment numbers for the 12 months. It’s also the largest downward revision made since 2009.
Now, it’s important to note that these weren’t jobs lost by workers. Instead, the difference in numbers is due to the fact the job numbers had been overcounted in the first place.
Even with the lower number, the U.S. still added 2.08 million jobs between March 2023 and March 2024. That’s still pretty solid.
Take a look at the breakdown of the revisions by industry:
You will find more infographics at Statista
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