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New-Home Sales Are
on Track for a 7 year High - But it's Still Not Enough to Meet Demand
Sales of new
single-family houses rose last month to an annualized rate of 546,000, the
Census Bureau(https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newresales.pdf) and the
Department of Housing and Urban Development reported on Tuesday, an increase
of 2% over April and the highest rate since February 2008.
Despite the fast
pace of sales, the press release reported only 206,000 new houses for sale
(seasonally adjusted) at the end of May - a supply of just 4.5 months.
Six months is considered a healthy supply. Meanwhile, the median sale
price of new houses was $282,800 in May, and the average sale price was
$337,000. Those numbers were $285,60 and $323,500 respectively last
May. Back then, there was a 5.1-month supply.
That's pretty good
news for buyers. "New home prices are influenced heavily by what
builders build and offer," says Realtor.com chief
economist, Jonathan Smoke. "The lower price is evidence that they
are starting to build more affordable homes in their mix."
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Tuesday, June 21, 2016
New Home Sales
