Northeast Drags Down New Home Sales

Sales of newly constructed single-family homes dipped only slightlyrnin January from December levels.  The U.S.rnCensus Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Developing said today thatrnJanuary sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000.  That rate was 0.2 percent below the slightlyrnrevised December estimate of 482,000 units. rnThe original December number, also 481,000, had represented an 11.6rnpercent surge from November.</p

January’s rate of new home sales was 5.3 percent above thosernin the same month in 2014 which were estimated at 457,000 units.  On a non-seasonally adjusted basis there werernan estimated 36,000 new homes sold in January compared to 34,000 in Decemberrnand 33,000 a year earlier.  </p

The report estimates that at the end of January there werern218,000 new homes for sale nationwide, an approximate 5.4 month supply at therncurrent rate of sales.  The inventory wasrn3,000 units larger than a month earlier but the absorption rate was unchanged. Ofrnthe homes currently available for sale, 116,000 are under construction and constructionrnhas not yet started on 40,000.</p

The median price of a home sold in January was $294,300rncompared to $269,800 in January 2014. rnThe average price in the recent period was $348,300, up from $337,300 arnyear earlier.  Thirty percent of homesrnsold were in the $200-299,000 price range and 18 percent were sold forrn$300-$399,000.   Homes sold during the month were on the marketrna median of 3.3 months.</p

Sales in the Northeast, which was hit with a series ofrnsevere snowstorms throughout the month, were down 51.6 percent from Decemberrnand 50.0 percent from January 2014.  Inrnthe Midwest sales increased by 19.2 percent month-over-month and 21.6 percentrnfrom a year earlier.  </p

The South saw an increase in sales from the prior month ofrn2.2 percent and an increase of 8.6 percent year-over-year.  Sales for the month dipped in the West 0.8rnpercent but remained 5.0 percent above the pace a year earlier.

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