Furniture Prices Ease, Housing Hopes, and a Havertys CEO Transition

Originally published November 13, 2024. This version was rebuilt from the BLS consumer price index, NAR's pending home sales report and the Havertys leadership release for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.

Mid-November 2024 brought soft furniture prices, the best contract signings in months and a leadership change at a long-established furniture retailer.

The short version

• BLS said consumer prices rose 2.6% over the 12 months to October.
• NAR said pending home sales jumped 7.4% in September, the highest level since March.
• Havertys said Steven G. Burdette will succeed Clarence H. Smith as CEO on January 1, 2025.

Inflation and furniture prices

BLS said the Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in October and 2.6% over 12 months. Shelter accounted for over half of the monthly increase.

Household furnishings and operations were among the indexes that decreased over the month, down 0.1% seasonally adjusted and 0.6% lower than a year earlier. Soft prices helped shoppers but squeezed retailer margins.

Housing market outlook

NAR's Pending Home Sales Index jumped 7.4% to 75.8 in September, the highest since March, and was 2.6% higher than a year earlier. Contract signings rose in all four regions.

NAR's chief economist said buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates in late summer and more inventory. He forecast existing-home sales of 4.47 million in 2025 after two sluggish years.

Signed contracts usually close within a month or two, so September's jump pointed to more move-ins and furniture demand late in the year.

Havertys leadership transition

Havertys said Clarence H. Smith will retire as CEO and become executive chairman on January 1, 2025, when president Steven G. Burdette becomes president and CEO and joins the board.

Smith said the change followed a planned transition and that Burdette would be only the 7th CEO in the company's 139-year history.

Industry takeaways

Prices were easing, housing contracts were picking up and a long-planned leadership change was set at Havertys. Each pointed to an industry preparing for a better 2025 rather than enjoying one yet.

Related on FIN

• Move-In Furniture Tickets Are Drying Up
• Furniture Sales Rose. Costs Are Rising Faster.

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, October 2024
• National Association of Realtors, Pending home sales advanced 7.4% in September (Oct. 30, 2024)
• Haverty Furniture Companies, CEO leadership transition (SEC exhibit 99.1, Nov. 12, 2024)