Biggest Monthly Advance for New Home Sales since 1980

The U.S. Census Bureau and thernDepartment of Housing and Urban Development released their joint report on newrnhome sales in September and October.  Thernregular September report was not issued in October due to the governmentrnshutdown.  The data is included in thernOctober report in revised form. </p

New home sales in October were at arnseasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000, up 25.4 percent from the revisedrnSeptember rate of 354,000 units (August sales were at a rate of 379,000), the biggest monthly advance since May 1980. Thernoriginal September estimate was not provided. rnOctober sales were 21.6 percent higher than the 365,000 pace of sales inrnOctober 2014.</p

Sales in the Northeast increased 19.2 percentrnto a rate of 31,000 sales, 29.2 percent higher than a year earlier.  The Midwest had annualized sales of 63,000 units,rnup 34.0 percent month over month and 21.2 percent from the previous October.  Sales in the South were at an annualized raternof 259,000, a 28.2 percent increase over the previous month and up 41.5 percentrnfrom a year earlier.  Sales in the Westrnrose 15.2 percent to an annual rate of 91,000 new homes but this rate was 14.2rnpercent below sales in October 2012.</p

On a non-annualized basis there were anrnestimated 27,000 new homes sold in September and 35,000 sales in October.  More than half of these sales were in thernSouth in both periods. </p

There were an estimated 183,000 newrnhomes for sale at the end of October. rnThis is estimated to be a 4.9 month supply at the current rate of sales,rnabout the same as one year earlier when there were 146,000 available homes.</p

The median price of a new home sold inrnOctober was $245,000 compared to $247,200 in October 2013.  The average prices in the two periods werern$321,700 and $285,400 respectively.

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