New Home Sales Decline from Downgraded May Numbers

New homes sales retreated in June fromrnthe very strong performance reported for May; a performance thatrnturns out to have been less strong. A joint release from the CensusrnBureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development thisrnmorning put June sales of newly constructed single family homes at arnseasonally adjusted annual pace of 406,000 units. This represents anrn8.1 percent drop from the revised May rate of 442,000. May salesrnhowever were originally estimated to be at the rate of 504,000 unitsrnwhich would have been an 18.6 percent increase over April and, thernreport said, the most rapid increase in 20 years. </p

June sales were also down, by 11.5rnpercent year over year. Those sales were estimated atrn459,000.</p

On an unadjusted basis there werern38,000 new homes sold in June, down from 42,000 in May and 43,000 arnyear earlier. Unadjusted May sales were originally estimated atrn49,000 units.</p

There were an estimated 197,000 homesrnfor sale at the end of June, a 5.8 month supply at the current raternof absorption. One year earlier there was an estimated 4.2 monthrnsupply. Homes that sold in June were on the market an estimated 3.4rnmonths, unchanged from May but substantially below the 4.2 monthsrnrequired for marketing a year earlier.</p

The median price of a new home sold inrnJune was $273,500 compared to $259,800 in June 2013. The averagernprice was $331,400 compared to $306,100 in the earlier period.</p

Sales in every region were lower thanrnin May; 20.0 percent in the Northeast, 8.2 percent in the Midwest,rn9.5 percent and 1.9 percent in the South and West respectively. ThernMidwest had the only year-over-year increase, up 19.6 percent fromrnthe previous June. Sales in the Northeast declined 27.3 percent andrnwere down 17.4 percent in the south and 9.4 percent in the West. </p

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