–Sales Pace Slowest Since February, But Still Up From Year Ago
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The pace of new single-family home sales fell
0.7% in July to an annual rate of 298,000 after seasonal adjustment, a
lower rate than expected and the slowest since February, data released
Tuesday by the Commerce Department showed.
Analysts had expected sales to rise slightly to a 315,000
seasonally adjusted annual rate, based on the median forecast in a
Market News International survey. In addition to the July decline, there
were downward revisions to the sales rates in May and June.
Sales were up 100% in the Northeast region after declines the
previous two months, though sales in that region were still down from a
year ago on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Sale were also up in the Midwest, rising 2.4%. However, there were
declines in the larger South and West regions, which fell 7.4% and 5.9%,
respectively.
On an unadjusted basis, new home sales were down 3.6% from June,
but were up 3.8% from a year ago.
The supply of homes for sale fell 0.6% to a record low 165,000 in
July. As a result of the comparable declines in supply and sales, the
months supply held steady at 6.6 months, but was down from 9.0 months a
year ago.
The median sales price fell 6.3% to $222,000 in July, but was up
4.7% from July 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 **
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