New Home Sales Slip 2.8% To 588,000 Annual Rate

Sales of new single-family homes dropped 2.8% to a 588,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in January, according to data released by the Commerce Department yesterday.

The January figure came after an upwardly revised 605,000 rate in December, a 4.0% drop, originally reported as a 4.7% decrease to 604,000. IFR Markets’ poll of economists had predicted a 600,000 sales level for January.

Sales of new homes were 33.9% below the 890 million rate in January 2007, Commerce said.

The supply of new homes at the current sales rate grew to 9.9 months from 9.5 months in December.

Sales dropped in the South, Northeast and Midwest, and rose in the Far West. Sales in the West increased 2.2% to 142,000 from 139,000 the previous month. The South saw a 2.4% decrease in sales to 321,000 new homes sales after 329,000 homes sold the previous month. In the Midwest sales declined 7.6% to 73,000 homes from 79,000 a month earlier. Northeast sales fell 10.3% to 52,000 homes sold, from 58,000 the prior month.

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