June New Home Sales Soar 8.3% to 497,000 Annual Rate

WASHINGTON — Sales of new single-family houses jumped 8.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 497,000 in June, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The accelerated sales pace followed a revised May rate of 459,000, originally reported as 476,000, and was 38.1% above the June 2012 rate of 360,000.

The June rate was higher than the median 482,000 rate projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

Regional figures were generally strong. Sales rose 18.5% in the Northeast, 13.8% in the West, and 10.9% in the South. They dropped 11.8% in the Midwest.

The median sales price of new houses fell to $249,700 in June, 5.0% below the revised May median price of $262,800, originally reported as $263,900. On a year-over-year basis, the median price climbed 7.4% above $232,600 in June 2012.

The average sales price in June was $295,000, down 4.0% from $307,400 in May.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new homes for sale at the end of June was 161,000, a 1.3% increase from May's revised supply of 159,000, originally reported as 161,000, and the most since 162,000 reported in August 2011. The June figure represents a supply of 3.9 months at the current sales rate, down from 4.1 months in May.

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