WASHINGTON - New homes sales increased 23.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 330,000, snapping back from a record low number of sales in May, as the number of new homes for sale dropped to the lowest level in almost 42 years, the Commerce Department reported today.
New home sales in May were revised lower to 267,000 from 300,000 reported last month. Records for this series date back to 1963. June’s figure was the second lowest total on record.
Every region saw a gain in sales except the West, which fell to a record low of 57,000 new home sales.
Economists expected 320,000 new home sales for the month, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
The number of new homes for sale dropped to 210,000, the lowest level since September 1968. The months’ supply of new homes decreased to 7.6 months from 9.6 months in May.
The median sales priced slipped to $213,400 in June, a 0.8% decline from June 2009 and a 1.4% drop from May.
Home sales have plunged in the months following the expiration of a federal homebuyers’ tax credit. Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales fell 5.1% in June and the inventory of homes available increased to 8.9 months.
Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, said the supply of existing homes for sale will likely increase to 10 months and would put downward pressure on home prices if that inventory level is sustained.
