| Sales of new single-family houses in June 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, 11 percent above sales in May, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The figure, however, is 21.3 percent below the June 2008 estimate of 488,000.
Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units, according to U.S. Commerce Department numbers released today. Coming on the heels of an upwardly revised number for May, the gain marks a third consecutive month of improved sales activity.
"The big gain in home sales last month was reflected in three out of four regions and helped shrink the inventory of new homes for sale to its lowest level in years," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "Even so, the pace of home sales in June 2009 was still more than 21 percent off the pace of sales in the same month last year, so we still have quite a way to go. The concern now is that complicating factors - particularly job losses, appraisal issues that are torpedoing more than a quarter of new-home sales, and the impending expiration of the first-time buyer tax credit - threaten to stifle the positive momentum."
The number of newly built homes on the market declined for a 26th consecutive month in June, falling 4.1 percent to 281,000 units. This marks a relatively thin 8.8-month supply at the current sales pace.
New-home sales rose by double-digits in the Northeast (29.2 percent), Midwest (43.1 percent), and West (22.6 percent) in June. Meanwhile, sales activity declined 5.3 percent in the South, which is the country's largest housing market.
The median sales price of new houses sold in June 2009 was $206,200; the average sales price was $276,900. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June was 281,000. This represents a supply of 8.8 months at the current sales rate. |
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