New US home sales up 11 pc
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
WASHINGTON, July 28 (AFP): New US home sales leapt 11 per cent in June, government data showed yesterday in a further sign of recovery for the sector at the epicenter of the global financial crisis.
The Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, well above most private forecasts for a pace of 350,000.
That was 11 per cent more than the upwardly revised May rate of 346,000, but 21.3 per cent below the June 2008 estimate.
Sales prices fell, however, suggesting builders have been cutting prices to clear inventory. The median sales price fell to 206,200 from 219,000 a month earlier. And the median length of time homes were on the market was a record 11.8 months.
The number of new homes for sale at the end of June was estimated at 281,000 -- a supply of 8.8 months at the current sales rate. That was down from a glut of 10.2 months in May and 12.4 months in January, when home sales fell to their lowest level since statistics began in 1963.
The report was the latest to suggest the battered housing sector and overall economy may be on the mend after a brutal slump.
Celia Chen at Moody's Economy.com called the latest report "surprisingly strong," and added: "The improvement in sales is another heartening sign that housing is stabilizing."
Last week, the National Association of Realtors said sales of US existing homes rose for the third consecutive month in June -- up 3.6 per cent to a rate of 4.89 million units.
Economist Michelle Meyer at Barclays Capital said the rise in new home sales was the largest monthly increase since December 2000.
"The normalization in the new housing market is underway, which is a precondition for new homebuilding," she said.
The Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, well above most private forecasts for a pace of 350,000.
That was 11 per cent more than the upwardly revised May rate of 346,000, but 21.3 per cent below the June 2008 estimate.
Sales prices fell, however, suggesting builders have been cutting prices to clear inventory. The median sales price fell to 206,200 from 219,000 a month earlier. And the median length of time homes were on the market was a record 11.8 months.
The number of new homes for sale at the end of June was estimated at 281,000 -- a supply of 8.8 months at the current sales rate. That was down from a glut of 10.2 months in May and 12.4 months in January, when home sales fell to their lowest level since statistics began in 1963.
The report was the latest to suggest the battered housing sector and overall economy may be on the mend after a brutal slump.
Celia Chen at Moody's Economy.com called the latest report "surprisingly strong," and added: "The improvement in sales is another heartening sign that housing is stabilizing."
Last week, the National Association of Realtors said sales of US existing homes rose for the third consecutive month in June -- up 3.6 per cent to a rate of 4.89 million units.
Economist Michelle Meyer at Barclays Capital said the rise in new home sales was the largest monthly increase since December 2000.
"The normalization in the new housing market is underway, which is a precondition for new homebuilding," she said.