New Home Sales Up 15.3% Over Last Year, Inventories Continue Decline

The Department of Housing and UrbanrnDevelopment and the U.S. Census Bureau had more good news for housing thisrnmorning.  Sales of newly constructed single-familyrnhouses increased by 4.4 percent in November, to a seasonally adjusted rate ofrn377,000 units.  This is an increase ofrn15.3 percent from the rate in November 2011 and is the ninth time in the lastrn12 months that sales have increased. rnOctober sales were revised downward to 361,000 from the 368,000rnoriginally reported.rn</p

The median price of new houses sold inrnNovember was $246,200 compared to $214,300 in November 2011.  The average sales price in November wasrn$299,700 compared to $250,000 a year earlier.rn</p

The inventory of unsold homes continuesrnto decline.  At the end of November therernwere 149,000 homes on the market, a 4.7 month supply at the current rate ofrnsales.  This is a -4.1 percent changernfrom October and 17.5 percent lower than in November 2011 where there werern155,000 homes for sale, a 5.7 month inventory.</p

There were majorrnmonth-over-month swings in the pace of sales in the four regions; both positivernand negative changes reached double digits. rnIn the Northeast sales were at an annual adjusted rate of 27,000 units,rnup 12.5 percent from October and 68.8 percent higher than one yearrnearlier.  Sales in the South were at anrnannual rate of 12,000, up 21.1 percent from October and 17.2 percentrnannually.  The West is on a pace to sellrn149,000 homes, down 17.8 percent from the previous month but up 13.7 percentrnsince November 2011.  In the Midwest salesrnwere down 12.5 percent in October to a rate of 49,000 units and the Midwest wasrnthe only region where sales lagged behind those of a year earlier, a -5.8rnpercent change. </p

New Home Sales</p

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