–July Sales Rate Same As Revised May, High Since April 2010
–Home Supply Drops Further To 142,000, Another Record Low
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The pace of new single-family home sales rose
3.6% in July to an annual rate of 372,000 after seasonal adjustment, a
stronger pace than expected, data released Thursday by the Commerce
Department showed.
Analysts in a Market News International survey expected the pace of
new home sales to rise to a 365,000 annual rate from the originally
reported 350,000 pace in June. The sales pace in June was revised up
to 359,000, while the sales pace was revised down to 372,000 in May from
the previously reported 382,000 rate.
July sales were up 76.5% in the Northeast region after falling a
record 55.3% in the previous month. Sales were also up 7.7% in
the Midwest region, but were down 1.6% in the large South region and
down 0.9% in West region.
On an unadjusted basis, July new home sales were unchanged from
June at a level of 34,000. There were 27,000 unadjusted homes sold in
July 2011.
Through July, there were roughly 224,000 homes sold in 2012, the
Commerce Department said. This was up from 185,000 in the first seven
months of 2011.
The supply of homes for sale fell 0.7% to 142,000 in July, another
record low. As a result of the jump in sales and the further decline in
supply, the months supply fell to 4.6 months at the current sales pace
from 4.8 months in June. The months supply was 6.7 months in July 2011.
The median sales price fell 2.1% to $224,200 in July. The median
price was down 2.5% from the $229,900 median price in July 2011.
** MNI Washington Bureau (202) 371-2121 **
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