New Home Sales Lost Ground in February

New home sales dropped in February to a seasonallyrnadjusted annual rate of 411,000 units. rnThis was down 4.6 percent from the revised rate in January, downgradedrnfrom the 437,000 originally reported to 431,000.  February sales were 12.3 percent above thern366,000 reported for February 2012.  On arnnon-seasonally adjusted basis there were 33,000 new homes sold during the monthrncompared to 30,000 in both January and in February 2012.</p

The new home sales data was released Tuesday by thernU.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.</p

At the end of February there were 152,000 new homesrnfor sale compared to 146,000 a year earlier. rn However, because of the increasernin the rate of sales the current inventory represents a 4.4 month supply comparedrnto 4.8 months in February 2012.  Eight-threernthousand units in the current inventory are under construction while 43,000 arerncomplete.</p

The median price of homes sold in February wasrn$246,800 and the average price was $313,700. rnThe respective prices one year earlier were $239,900 and $274,000.</p

Regional sales were mixed.  In the Northeast the monthly change was -13.3rnpercent and sales were down on an annual basis by 10.3 percent.  The rate of sales in the Midwest was up 13.7rnpercent month-over-month and 18.4 percent year-over-year.  The South posted negative numbers of 9.7rnpercent for the month and 5.6 percent for the year and the West, while down 2.1rnpercent from January has increased an impressive 54.9 percent since the samernperiod in 2012.

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