New Home Sales Up 5.7% in September, Reaching a 2.5 Year High

Sales of new single-family houses werernup 5.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000rnunits, but in announcing the increase the U.S. Census Bureau and the Departmentrnof Housing and Urban Development also revised their earlier estimate for Augustrndown from 373,000 to 368,000 units.  ThernSeptember figure is a 27.1 percent increase over the new home sales estimate ofrn306,000 units in September 2011.   On arnnon-seasonally adjusted basis sales totaled 31,000 compared to 24,000 units inrnSeptember 2011.</p

Sales were up in three of the fourrnregions with only the Midwest region posting a lower rate of sales, down 37.3rnpercent from the previous month and 31.9 percent lower than one yearrnearlier.  In the Northeast sales were up 16.7rnpercent month-over-month and 75.0 percent year-over-year.  Sales in the South were 16.8 percent higherrnthan in August and 24.3 percent higher than in September 2011; the Westernrnregion was up 3.9 percent and 62.1 percent respectively.</p

The median sales price of new housesrnsold in September was $242,300 compared to $217,000 a year earlier and thernaverage price was $292,400, up from $255,400.</p

There were 145,000 new homes for sale atrnthe end of September compared to 160,000 in September 2011.  The current inventory represents a 4.5 monthrnsupply compared to a 6.3 month backlog one year earlier.  </p

New Home Sales</p

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