March New Home Sales Drop 14.5% to 384,000 Annual Rate

Sales of new single-family homes plunged 14.5% to a 384,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in March, according to data released by the Commerce Department Wednesday.

The increase came after a revised 4.5% slide to a 449,000 rate in February, originally reported as a 3.3% drop to 440,000. Thomson Reuters' poll of economists had predicted a 451,000 sales level for March.

Sales of new homes were 13.3% below the 470,000 rate in March 2013, Commerce said.

The supply of new homes at the current sales rate grew to 6.0 months from 5.0 months in February.

At the end of March, the number of new homes on the market was up to 193,000 from 187,000.

The unadjusted average price of a new single-family home gained to $334,200 from $318,900.

Meanwhile, the unadjusted median price rose to $290,000 from $260,900 in the previous month.

Sales fell in three of the four regions of the country in the month and rose in one.

Sales in the Northeast gained 12.5% to 27,000 from 24,000. Sales in the South were off 14.4% to 226,000 from 264,000, sales in the West dropped 16.7% to 80,000 homes from 96,000 sold a month earlier and Midwest sales fell 21.5% to 51,000 from 65,000.

 

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER