The Quikrete Industry Dashboard
As the latest Quikrete Industry Dashboard was being published, Thanksgiving Eve was upon us.
The good news for those traveling via automobile is that gas prices dropped again.
This month AAA projected 55.4 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period. The forecast is an increase of 2.3% over last year and marks the third-highest Thanksgiving forecast since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000.
Among those traveling, about 49.13 million will do so by auto compared to 4.69 million flying to their Thanksgiving destination. The latest AAA auto number marks 1.7% increase from 48.3 million who drove to their in 2022.
Prices at the pump softened as of Nov. 22 with AAA reporting the average national price for a gallon of fuel stood at $3.28. A week ago, average prices were at nearly $3.35 per gallon and $3.55 on a month-over-month basis. One year ago, the price stood at approximately $3.64.
Another major metric on the latest dashboard is a decrease in existing-home sales. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported sales were once again hampered by mortgage rates above 7% and limited housing inventory. As a result, total existing-home sales fell 4.1% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million.
Existing single-family homes declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.38 million in October, down 4.2% from 3.53 million in September and 14.6% from the previous year. But the median existing single-family home price was $396,100 in October, up 3% from October 2022.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will jointly report new home sales for October on Nov. 27. The latest Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) will be released by the NAR on Nov. 30.
