–Home Supply Up 1.4%, But Strong Sales Pull Month Supply Down To 4.5

By Kevin Kastner

WASHINGTON (MNI) – The pace of new single-family home sales rose
5.7% in September to an annual rate of 389,000 after seasonal
adjustment, a slightly stronger pace than expected, but following small
downward revisions to the sales pace in the previous two months, data
released Wednesday by the Commerce Department showed.

The jump in home sales came after a surge in the pace of housing
starts and an increase in the October NAHB housing index, an indication
of continued, though slow, improvement in home building. Existing home
sales did slow in the month, but followed a sharp rise in August.

Analysts in a Market News International survey expected the pace of
new home sales to rise to a 385,000 annual rate from the originally
reported 373,000 pace in August. The sales pace in August was revised
down slightly to 368,000.

There were sales increases in the Northeast, South, and West
regions in September, but sales fell 37.3% in the Midwest region

On an unadjusted basis, September new home sales were unchanged
from August at a level of 31,000. There were 24,000 homes sold in
September 2011 on an unadjusted basis.

Through September, there were roughly 285,000 homes sold in 2012,
the Commerce Department said. This was up 21.8% from the 234,000 homes
sold in the first nine months of 2011.

The supply of homes for sale rose 1.4% in September to 145,000, but
was still down sharply from the 160,000 homes for sales in September
2011.

As a result of the jump in sales and the smaller increase in
supply, the months supply fell to 4.5 months at the current sales pace,
the lowest level since a 4.5 month supply in October 2005, suggesting
that buyers are holding onto their homes longer. The months supply was
6.3 months in September 2011.

The median sales price fell 3.2% to $242,400 in September after
rising 5.8% in the previous month. The median price was 11.7% from the
$217,000 median price in September 2011.

** MNI Washington Bureau (202) 371-2121 **

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