WASHINGTON — The pace of new single-family home sales rose 7.9% to a 421,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in August, partially rebounding after the sharp decline in July, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
The August sales rate was above the MNI survey median forecast of 416,000, but followed downward revision to the sales rates in the previous three months.
While the May and June sales rates were revised lower, they are still above the August level.
Sales were up in Northeast, Midwest, and South regions, but declined further in the West region.
Before seasonal adjustment, the level of total sales was up 12.1% from its year ago level.
The supply of new homes for sales rose 3.6% to 175,000 in August, continuing the upward trend seen since the first of the year. Before seasonal adjustment, the home supply was 21.4%, a much faster rate of growth than for sales. The current supply level is the highest since March 2011, when it was 179,000.
Recent housing starts data have suggested a modest seasonally adjusted slowdown in the summer months from the brisk pace set in the spring, but the rate has still been strong enough to outpace demand.
As a result of the jump in the August sales pace and the smaller rise in home supply, the seasonally adjusted month supply fell to 5.0 months at the current sales pace in August, down from the recent peak of 5.2 months in July, but still up sharply from 4.6 months in August 2013.
The median sales price of new homes fell 0.7% to $254,600, but was up 0.6% from the median price a year ago.
Overall, the data in this report suggest that the sales dip in July was an isolated event in an otherwise modestly upward trend for sales, but the sharp gains being made in home supply over the last eight months will continue to keep downward pressure on sales prices.
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