By Kevin Kastner and Yali N’Diaye
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The pace of new single-family home sales fell
2.3% in August to an annual rate of 295,000 after seasonal adjustment,
as expected and the slowest rate since February, data released Monday by
the Commerce Department showed.
The sales rate hit the median expectation in a Market News
International survey of economists, and followed modest upward revisions
in the previous two months.
Sales were down 13.6% in the Northeast region after a sharp
increase in the previous month. Sales in that region were still down
36.7% from a year earlier.
Sales also fell in the large South region and the West region, but
rose 8.2% in the Midwest.
On an unadjusted basis, new home sales were down 7.1% from July to
26,000, but were up 13.0% from a year ago.
The supply of homes for sale fell 1.2% to a record low 162,000 in
August. As a result of the larger drop in sales than in supply, the
months supply rose slightly to 6.6 months from 6.5 months in July, but
was still down from 8.9 months a year ago.
The median sales price fell 8.7% to $209,100 in August, and was
down 7.7% from August 2010. The large supply of lower-priced distressed
homes continue to impact new home sales and sales prices for new homes.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
