New Home Sales Up 20% From Last Year

In March, sales of newly built, single-family homes slowed from the month before, falling 11.4 percent, according to new estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, new home sales are now nearly 20 percent higher than they were last year at this time and are coming off their best month in seven years. In other words, the spring sales season is off to a good start despite the monthly decline. And the year-over-year improvement in new home sales is just one of many indicators trending upward. For example, sales of previously owned homes recently registered their largest one-month increase in five years while, at the same time, surveyed home builders are expressing growing optimism about the health of the market. Also, a closer look at the numbers reveals large regional differences in the number of new homes sold during the month. In fact, the Northeast posted a 33.3 percent drop in sales while the Midwest actually saw a sales increase of nearly 6 percent. Sales in the South and West were also down but not as significantly as they were in the Northeast. Also in the report, the median sales price of new homes sold in March was $277,400; the average sales price was $343,300. More here.

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