• January new home sales fell 9.2 percent from December and 5.2 percent from a year ago, to 494,000 units (SAAR), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• At $282,600, the seasonally adjusted median price of new homes sold in January was down 3.2% from December and down 4.6% year-over-year, and was the lowest recorded in any month since September 2014.
• The month’s supply of new homes on the market reached 5.8 in January, just shy of post-recession highs.

We’re seeing a familiar pattern emerge in home sales as we start 2016. On the heels of yesterday’s decent existing home sales data, today’s new home sales data is disappointing, marking a return to the trend of one rising and the other falling in a given month that we saw for much of the second half of 2015. Moreover, like existing home sales, new home sales have now been essentially flat since mid-2015. But there are a few reasons for buyers to be encouraged by this report. First, the seasonally adjusted price of new homes sold last month fell to $282,600, its lowest since September 2014 and modest good news for more entry-level and middle-tier buyers that have been struggling to get into the market. Additionally, the months supply of new homes for sale on the market reached 5.8 months, just shy of post-recession highs, which could mean tight inventory conditions are easing somewhat just as the market begins gearing up for the busy spring shopping season. But its important to keep that months’ supply number in context — it is calculated assuming a given pace of sales, and this month’s data shows that new homes aren’t exactly flying off the shelves.