June new home sales edged higher, rising 0.8 percent from May to 610,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales for the previous three months were revised downward by a combined 27,000 units.
June new home sales edged higher, rising 0.8 percent from May to 610,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales for the previous three months were revised downward by a combined 27,000 units.
Compared to a year ago, June new home sales were up 9.1 percent nationwide, down from the double-digit annual growth rates seen through much of 2016. The two biggest regions for home sales – the West and the South – experienced very different new home sales markets in June. In the West, new home sales were up 33 percent over the year, while in the South June new home sales were up just 0.9 percent year-over-year.
The number of new homes for sale increased by 3,000 units (1.1 percent) from May to 272,000 units (SAAR), up 11.9 percent from last June and the highest level since June 2009. But despite these gains, inventory is still very low by historic standards. Unlike the past two months, when increases in inventory were driven by downward revisions to previous months’ estimates, the increase in the number of new homes on the market in June was driven mostly by rising numbers of spec homes – homes listed for sale before construction has even begun. About 69 percent of new homes sold in June and 78 percent of new homes on the market in June were either still under construction or had not yet started construction. It will be a number of months before buyers of these homes vacate their current homes, which would free up much-needed for-sale or rental inventory.
The median seasonally adjusted price of new homes sold in June fell 5.15 percent from May to $310,800, down 3.6 percent from last June. It was the third year-over-year decline in median seasonally adjusted sales price this year. By contrast, median sale price fell year-over-year in only two months over the previous two years. The median seasonally adjusted sales price initially reported for May – $349,400, an all-time high – was revised downward to $327,700, just shy of the median sale price of $328,900 reported in December 2016.
Related:
