New home sales were unchanged in August with 288,000 sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, tying July’s second-lowest sales figure on record, as inventories fell to the lowest level in 42 years, the Commerce Department reported today.
Sales in July were revised higher to 288,000 from 276,000 initially reported. July and August were the lowest months for new home sales since 282,000 sales in May.
August sales increased in the Northeast but fell in the other three regions. Sales in the South fell to a record low.
Economists expected 290,000 home sales for the month, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters. New home sales for June were revised lower to 312,000 from 315,000 reported last month.
The average median new home sale price fell to $204,700, dropping 0.6% from July and 1.2% from a year ago. It was the lowest median sales prices in more than six years.
The number of new homes for sale dropped to 206,000, the lowest inventory level since August 1968. The months’ supply of new home sales fell to 8.6 months from 8.7 in July.
Existing home sales increased 7.6% to 4.13 million in August, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. The housing market is still in a hangover following the homebuyers tax credit expiration this spring, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
