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Last Update: 26-Jan-12 10:36 ET
New Home Sales
New home sales declined 2.2% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 units. That was below the Briefing.com consensus estimate of 321,000 and marks a 7.3% decline from the year-ago period.
Strikingly, the drop in new home sales occurred in the face of a 12.8% decline in median home prices to $210,300, which is far from music to the ears of homeowners attempting to sell existing homes.
At the current sales pace, the supply of new homes for sale equates to 6.1 months of inventory, which is little changed from November and below the 6.9 months of supply seen in December 2010.
While new home sales declined overall, the Northeast saw a 46.7% jump in new home sales in December; the West followed with a 9.0% gain. A 10.1% decline in the South and a 3.7% drop in the Midwest, however, more than offset those increases.
Strikingly, the drop in new home sales occurred in the face of a 12.8% decline in median home prices to $210,300, which is far from music to the ears of homeowners attempting to sell existing homes.
At the current sales pace, the supply of new homes for sale equates to 6.1 months of inventory, which is little changed from November and below the 6.9 months of supply seen in December 2010.
While new home sales declined overall, the Northeast saw a 46.7% jump in new home sales in December; the West followed with a 9.0% gain. A 10.1% decline in the South and a 3.7% drop in the Midwest, however, more than offset those increases.
