New Home Sales Start Off 2013 Up Almost 30 Percent From a Year Ago

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-real-estate-new-home-salesNew home sales in January were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 437,000 homes, an increase of 15.6 percent from the month before and an increase of 28.9 percent from a year ago, according to the new home sales report for January 2013 just released by the Commerce Department. The median price of new homes sold in January 2013 was $226,400 and the inventory of new homes for sale at the end of the month worked out to a 4.1 month supply.

New home sales increased almost 20 percent in 2012 and prices increased almost 14 percent

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-real-estate-new-home-salesNew home sales activity slowed at the end of 2012 with new homes selling in December at a seasonally adjusted rate of 369,000, a decline of 7.3 percent from the month before but an increase of 8.8 percent from December 2011, according to the December 2012 new home sales report from the Commerce Department. This means 2012 ended with an increase of almost 20 percent in new home sales from 2011 when there were just 306,000 new homes sold.  Also on a positive note, the median price of new homes increased from $218,600 in December 2011 to $248,900  in December 2012 while, during the same period, the inventory of new homes for sale in the U.S. declined from a 5.4 month supply to 4.9 months.

Continue reading “New home sales increased almost 20 percent in 2012 and prices increased almost 14 percent

New home sales pace in Midwest declines in November

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-real-estate-new-home-salesNew home sales in November in the Midwest region were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 49,000 homes, a decrease of 12.5 percent from the month before and a decrease of 5.8 percent from a year ago, according to the new home sales for November 2012 just released by the Commerce Department. The new home sales numbers for the Midwest are in pretty sharp contrast to the national numbers which showed new home sales up 4.4 percent in November from the month before and up 15.3 percent from a year ago.  Year to date actual home sales in the U.S. are up 20 percent from 2011 and in the Midwest they are up 9.8 percent.

 

 

New home sales increase again in May;   Inventory continues to decline

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-real-estate-new-home-salesToday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for May 2012 showing an increase of 7.6 percent from the month before, and an increase of 19.8 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for May was 369,000 homes, up from a revised rate of 343,000 homes the month before. The supply of new homes on the market decreased to a 4.7 month supply from a revised 5.0 months the month before. The median new home price decreased slightly to $234,500 from a revised median price of $236,000 the month before and increased 5.6 percent from a year ago when the median new home price was $222,000. Continue reading “New home sales increase again in May;   Inventory continues to decline

New home construction continues to show modest improvement

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The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for April 2012 showing an increase in single-family home building permits from the month before of 1.9 percent and a 18.5 percent increase in new home starts compared to the year before. Continue reading “New home construction continues to show modest improvement

New home sales and prices slip in March; both still better than a year ago

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-real-estate-new-home-salesToday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data forMarch 2012 showing a decrease of 7.1 percent from the month before, and an increase of 7.5 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for March was 328,000 homes, down from a revised rate of 353,000 homes the month before. It’s worth noting that February’s sales were originally reported by the Commerce Department to be 313,000, so the revision to 353,000 was significant.  So, in the end, March may not look so bad either if the revised numbers follow suit with the month before. Continue reading “New home sales and prices slip in March; both still better than a year ago

New home sales slip in February; still up double digits from a year ago though

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-real-estate-new-home-salesToday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for February 2012 showing a decrease of 1.6 percent from the month before, and an increase of 11.4 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for February was 313,000 homes, down from an adjusted rate of 318,000 homes the month before. This is the second consecutive month new home sales have declined. Continue reading “New home sales slip in February; still up double digits from a year ago though

New home sales decline slightly in January; Inventory of new homes to lowest level in over a year

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-real-estate-new-home-salesToday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for January 2012 showing a decrease of 0.9 percent from the month before, and an increase of 3.5 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for January was 321,000 homes, down from an adjusted rate of 324,000 homes the month before. This is the first month new home sales have declined after four consecutive months of increases. Continue reading “New home sales decline slightly in January; Inventory of new homes to lowest level in over a year

New homes sales fall in December and make 2011 worst year on record

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-real-estate-new-home-salesToday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for December 2011 showing a decrease of 2.2 percent from the month before, and a decrease of 7.3 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for December was 307,000 homes, down from an adjusted rate of 314,000 homes the month before.  This is the first month new home sales have declined in four months and unfortunately ends the year with the lowest number of new homes sold since the Commerce Department began keeping track of sales in 1963. Continue reading “New homes sales fall in December and make 2011 worst year on record

New home sales tick up slightly in October;   still on track for worst year ever

Dennis Norman, St Louis Realtor, New Home SalesToday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for October 2011 showing an increase of 1.3 percent from the month before, and an increase of 8.9 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for October was 307,000 homes, up from an adjusted rate of 303,000 homes the month before (originally reported at 313,000 homes). Unfortunately, even with the increase in the rate of new home sales, the current rate of new home sales is still on track to make 2011 new home sales the lowest since the Commerce Department began keeping track of sales in 1963. Continue reading “New home sales tick up slightly in October;   still on track for worst year ever