New Home Sales Rise to Slightly Less Depressed Levels

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said today that the sales of new single family homes in April were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 433,000, an increase of 6.4 percent from March sales of 407,000 (revised from 384,000).  The April figure is 4.2 percent below sales in April 2013. 

The revised March number, while still lower than sales in February, cuts the month-over-month loss from the 14.6 percent originally reported to 9.4 percent. Perhaps some kind of spring market has finally arrived, or perhaps sales are just sideways and stagnant overall. 

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis there were 41,000 new homes sold in April compared to 39,000 in March.  There were 192,000 homes available for sale at the end of the reporting period, a 3.5 year high, and a 5.3 month supply compared to 191,000 units in March, a 5.6 month supply.

The median price of a new home sold in April was $275,800 and the average price was $320,100.  One year earlier the median and average prices of home sold were $279,000 and $337,000.

New home sales in the Northeast were down dramatically, 26.7 percent lower than in March and 31.3 percent below sales one year earlier.  In contrast, sales soared in the Midwest, 47.4 percent above the previous month and 35.5 percent higher than in April 2013.  Sales in the South increased 3.1 percent month-over-month but fell 9.6 percent below the level the previous April.  Sales in the West were unchanged from April and 6.1 percent lower than the earlier period.