Record High Median Prices amid Tepid New Home Sales

Sales of newly constructed single familyrnhomes rose slightly in October compared to September and were also improvedrnfrom sales a year earlier.  The U.S.rnCensus Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said today thatrnsales in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units, uprn0.7 percent from September sales. rnSeptember new home sales were originally reported at 467,000 units werernadjusted down in this report to 455,000. rnOctober sales were 1.8 percent above the October 2013 estimate ofrn450,000 units.</p

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis salesrnfor the month were estimated at 37,000 units. rnThis number was unchanged from September but was 1,000 units above thernestimate one year earlier.</p

There were approximately 212,000 newlyrnconstructed homes for sale at the end of October.  This is projected as a 5.6 month supply at therncurrent rate of sales.  One year ago therninventory was estimated at a 4.9 month supply. rnHomes sold in October were on the market for a median of 3.0 months.</p

The median price of a new homes sold in Octoberrnwas a record $305,000 and the average price was $401,000.  The median and average prices one yearrnearlier were $264,300 and $335,700 respectively.</p

Sales of new homes in the Northeast regionrnwere 7.1 percent higher than in September but down 6.3 percent from thernprevious October.  Sales in the Midwestrnwere up 15.8 percent month-over-month but were down 2.9 percent on an annualrnbasis.  The South had lower new homernsales compared to both earlier periods, down 1.9 percent for the month and 4.5rnpercent for the year.  The West’s Octoberrnsales were down 2.7 percent from September but were 27.9 percent higher thanrnthe same month in 2013.

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