March New Home Sales Fall 7.1%, While February Revised Up

New home sales fell sharply in March, dropping to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 328,000, down 7.1 percent from the February’s numbers.  However, at the same time February’s new home sales were revised upward from an original estimate of 313,000 to 353,000.  Despite the month-to-month decline, sales in March were still 7.5 percent higher than in March 2011 when sales were at an annual rate of 305,000.</p

Two regions, the Northeast and the South, posted increased sales on both a monthly and an annual basis.  In the Northeast monthly sales increased 7.7 percent to an annual rate of 28,000 and annual sales were up 12 percent.  In the South the rate of sales was 199,000 units, 3.1 percent higher than January and 16.4 percent above March 2011 figures.</p

In the Midwest the annual rate of 36,000 units was down 20.0 percent from February and 7.7 percent lower than a year earlier.  In the West the rate of 65,000 was a negative monthly change of 27.0 percent and an annual decrease of 7.1 percent.</p

The median sales price of a new house in March was $234,500 compared to $220,500 in March 2011 and the average price was $291,200 up from $260,800.   </p

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 144,000, a supply of 5.3 months at the current sales rate.  In February there were an estimated 146,000 units, a 5.0 month supply and a year earlier there were 178,000 homes for sale, a 7.0 month supply.  Of the 144,000 homes on the market, 67,000 are under construction, 48,000 are completed, and the median time a home has been on the market is 7.8 months. </p

The data was released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.</p

New Home Sales</p

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