New Home Sales didn't Match February Pace

New home sales settled down a bit in March after a dramatic surge in the Northeast in February that drove national sales figures up nearly 8 percent.  The Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today that sales of newly constructed single family homes in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000 units.  This was down 11.4 percent from February's sales, originally reported at 539,000 but revised even higher to 543,000 with today's report.

Sales for the month were up 19.4 percent compared to the same period in 2014.  The rate at that time was estimated at 403,000 units.

On a non-adjusted basis there were 45,000 new homes sold in March, unchanged from February.  Thirty-nine thousand homes sold during the month of March in 2014.

The median price of a newly constructed home sold in March was $277,400 and the average price was $343,300.  In March 2014 the relative figures were $282,300 and $331,500.

Sales fell in three out of four of the country's regions.  In the Northeast the rate of sales, which was reportedly 152 percent higher in February than in January, fell back by 10,000 units or 33.3 percent in March and was down 20.0 percent from a year earlier.  Sales of new homes increased 5.9 percent in the Midwest but were down 3.6 percent from a year earlier.  There was a 15.8 percent drop in sales in the South compared to the previous month but the rate was 14.6 percent higher than a year earlier.  The West saw a 3.4 percent month-over-month decline but sales were up 57.3 percent on an annual basis.

At the end of the period there were an estimated 213,000 new homes for sale (seasonally adjusted), 1.9 percent more than in February.  This represents a 5.3 month supply at the current rate of sales, up from a 4.6 month supply in February. Homes sold during the month were on the market a median of 4.0 months.