FIN Desk
Today's big number is new-home sales. August came in at a 684,000 annual pace, better than July but still below last year. Meanwhile, more homes are for sale, prices are softening, mortgage rates went back up, and freight costs from Asia remain high heading into China's Golden Week holiday. Here's what you need to know.
In today's briefing:
New-home sales: 684,000 annual pace, up 6.4% from July, down 2.0% from last year. Median price $393,700, down 5.8%.
Homes for sale: Over 1.17 million active listings, up 5.8% from last year. Asking prices down for the 36th straight week.
Ocean freight: Asia to West Coast over $8,100 per container. Asia to East Coast about $9,600.
Mortgage rates: 30-year at 7.03%, up from 6.95% last week.
Ethan Allen: Shareholder vote set for November 4. New CEO to be named by June 30, 2027.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
HOUSING DEMAND
New-home sales improved in August, but they're still behind last year.
The Census Bureau reported new single-family home sales at a 684,000 annual pace in August. That's up 6.4% from July (which was revised up from 607,000 to 643,000) but down 2.0% from August 2025. Census says neither change is statistically significant, so don't read too much into it.
Builders still have plenty of homes to sell. There are 483,000 new homes on the market, which is 8.5 months of supply. The median price fell to $393,700, down 5.8% from a year ago.
The details:
Sales pace: 684,000 (up from 643,000 in July; down from 698,000 last August)
Homes for sale: 483,000 / 8.5 months of supply
Median price: $393,700 (down 5.8% from last year)
Next report: October 27
Why it matters: One good month doesn't mean the housing market is back. Sales are still below last year, builders have a lot of unsold homes, and prices are dropping. For furniture retailers, that means:
Don't plan fall sales around last year's move-in pace.
Builder and new-home customers are delayed, not gone.
Buyers who do close are value conscious. Make sure your best value items are in stock.
Focus the next 90 days on customers who are already in their homes.
LISTINGS
More homes are for sale, and asking prices keep falling.
Realtor.com reported more than 1.17 million homes for sale the week of September 19, up 5.8% from last year and near the highest level since 2019. The median asking price was $419,500, down 1.3%. That's 36 straight weeks of year-over-year declines. Homes are taking about 61 days to sell.
Why it matters: More listings don't automatically mean more furniture sales. Homes are sitting for two months, so closings, and the furniture orders tied to them, may slip. Treat delivery dates tied to a home purchase as uncertain until the deal closes.
OCEAN FREIGHT
Shipping costs from Asia remain high heading into Golden Week.
Per Freightos, shipping a 40-foot container from Asia to the West Coast rose 4% last week to more than $8,100. Asia to the East Coast held at about $9,600. The drivers are shippers rushing orders before China's Golden Week holiday, port congestion in Asia, and carriers canceling sailings to manage capacity.
For perspective, rates are near their early-July highs but nowhere near the 2021 peak, when West Coast rates topped $20,000.
The details:
Asia to West Coast: $8,102 per container
Asia to East Coast: $9,606 per container
Why: Golden Week rush, Asian port congestion, canceled sailings
Not a 2021 repeat, but still expensive
Why it matters: If you import from Asia, check three things with your freight forwarder:
Are your next 30 to 45 days of shipments priced at today's rates or an older contract?
Which sailings are canceled over Golden Week, and which products could miss their floor date?
Do your promotional prices still make money at $8,000+ per container?
This isn't a crisis, but it's a real margin and timing risk for fall deliveries.
HOUSING FINANCE
Mortgage rates are back above 7%.
Freddie Mac's 30-year rate rose to 7.03% from 6.95% last week. The 15-year rose to 6.42% from 6.26%. A year ago, the 30-year was 6.30%. Next update is October 1.
Why it matters: Higher rates make it harder for buyers to close, and every delayed closing is a delayed furniture order. Keep your focus on customers already in their homes rather than counting on new movers.
GOVERNANCE
Ethan Allen's shareholder fight goes to a vote November 4.
Ethan Allen filed its final proxy and set its annual meeting for November 4 (virtual, 11 a.m. ET). The board is asking shareholders to vote its slate on the BLUE card. Activist investor DGB, which owns about 5.2% of the company, is pushing its own slate on the WHITE card and has called the company's succession plan "reactionary."
Ethan Allen restated that it will name a new CEO by June 30, 2027. Longtime CEO Farooq Kathwari will stay on the board until the 2027 meeting, then step down.
The company also highlighted its numbers: no debt, FY2026 sales of $579.5 million (down 5.7%), 61.2% gross margin, and $187.5 million in cash. Those are the company's own claims.
The details:
Vote: November 4, 2026
Board = BLUE card; DGB = WHITE card
New CEO by June 30, 2027
DGB owns about 5.2%
Why it matters: If you buy from or compete with Ethan Allen, watch for changes to lead times, design programs, and dealer relationships as leadership transitions. The board fight is the headline, but the business impact is what matters to you.
Bottom line: New-home sales ticked up in August, but they're still below last year, builders have plenty of unsold homes, and prices are falling. More existing homes are for sale at lower prices, and mortgage rates just crossed 7%. That keeps move-related furniture demand under pressure. On the import side, Asia shipping costs remain high into Golden Week, so watch your landed costs and delivery dates. And Ethan Allen's shareholder vote is set for November 4, with a new CEO due by mid-2027.
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