Locally, however, the natural disaster caused a drop in sales in the Northeast as power outages delayed transactions and some lenders demanded new inspections post-storm.
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Roughly half of those sales come out of the Northeast, just now emerging from its winter freeze.
The June sales figures were 9 percent below June of last year, and the sales slowdown was sharpest in the northeast and the south.
Sales seasonality too is stronger in the Midwest and Northeast than in the South and West.
Hurricane Sandy appears to have lowered construction (and sales, to a lesser extent) in the Northeast.
Sandy hit the Northeast region, which typically accounts for 25 to 30 percent of all auto sales in the United States, during the last few selling days of the month when sales are typically strongest.
While part of the slowdown in new home sales can be attributed to destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast, the marked market reaction suggests investors may be overly exuberant regarding the strength of housing markets.
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Russ Lucas, manager of pre-owned sales for BMW, will become vice president of its eastern region with overall responsibility for sales, marketing, aftersales and dealer development activities in the 12-state northeast region.
Advisors in partnership with Wells Fargo found that spending at small retailers in November showed a 5.2 percent year-over-year gain, outpacing the growth rate of total U.S. retail sales even amid the effects of Hurricane Sandy, which impacted stores hardest in the Northeast.
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From 1999 to the end of 2004, the mean sales price of an existing home soared 48%, led by a 53% gain in the Northeast, 52% gain in the South, 48% gain in the West and 43% gain in the Midwest, according to the realtor association.
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