Sales of New Homes Rose 3.4%
In November, Prices Climbed
By JEFF BATER
December 27, 2006 .
WASHINGTON -- New-home sales bounced back in November, rising more than expected, while inventories fell and the median price climbed.
Sales of single-family homes increased by 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.047 million, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. October sales fell 3.8% to 1.013 million, revised from a previously estimated 3.2% retreat to 1.004 million.
The sales numbers Wednesday were better than Wall Street was looking for. Economists expected a 1.6% increase to an annual rate of 1.020 million in November. The advance in November was the third in six months; sales were up 3.1% in September, up 4.3% in August, down 9.2% in July and down 2.1% during June.
But year over year, sales were 15.3% lower since November 2005. The housing sector is a big thorn in the side of the economy, which slowed in the third quarter to a 2% pace. The housing component of gross domestic product plummeted by 18.7%, which was the sharpest drop in 15 years and robbed GDP of 1.20 percentage points.
Surging demand in certain markets across the U.S. during the housing boom sent prices skyward and builders breaking ground. Sales peaked in 2005 and began receding, while inventories climbed, resulting in builders slowing down.
New-home inventories fell in November. There were an estimated 545,000 homes for sale at the end of the month, the Commerce data Wednesday showed. That represented a 6.3 months' supply at the current sales rate. An estimated 553,000 homes were for sale at the end of October, a 6.7 months' inventory. However, the months' supply a year earlier, in November 2005, was 4.9.
The average price of a new home decreased to $294,900 in November, down from $304,900 in October but above $294,400 in November 2005, according to Commerce. The median price rose, up to $251,700 last month from $243,800 in October and $237,900 in November 2005.
Financing costs drifted down in November. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage was 6.24%. It was 6.36% a month earlier -- and 6.33% in October 2005.
By region, new-home sales last month rose 22.4% in the Midwest, 22.5% in the Northeast, and 19% in the West. Demand fell in the South, down 9.3%.
Based on figures unadjusted for seasonal factors, an estimated 72,000 homes were actually sold last month in the U.S., down from 78,000 in October.
In November, Prices Climbed
By JEFF BATER
December 27, 2006 .
WASHINGTON -- New-home sales bounced back in November, rising more than expected, while inventories fell and the median price climbed.
Sales of single-family homes increased by 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.047 million, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. October sales fell 3.8% to 1.013 million, revised from a previously estimated 3.2% retreat to 1.004 million.
The sales numbers Wednesday were better than Wall Street was looking for. Economists expected a 1.6% increase to an annual rate of 1.020 million in November. The advance in November was the third in six months; sales were up 3.1% in September, up 4.3% in August, down 9.2% in July and down 2.1% during June.
But year over year, sales were 15.3% lower since November 2005. The housing sector is a big thorn in the side of the economy, which slowed in the third quarter to a 2% pace. The housing component of gross domestic product plummeted by 18.7%, which was the sharpest drop in 15 years and robbed GDP of 1.20 percentage points.
Surging demand in certain markets across the U.S. during the housing boom sent prices skyward and builders breaking ground. Sales peaked in 2005 and began receding, while inventories climbed, resulting in builders slowing down.
New-home inventories fell in November. There were an estimated 545,000 homes for sale at the end of the month, the Commerce data Wednesday showed. That represented a 6.3 months' supply at the current sales rate. An estimated 553,000 homes were for sale at the end of October, a 6.7 months' inventory. However, the months' supply a year earlier, in November 2005, was 4.9.
The average price of a new home decreased to $294,900 in November, down from $304,900 in October but above $294,400 in November 2005, according to Commerce. The median price rose, up to $251,700 last month from $243,800 in October and $237,900 in November 2005.
Financing costs drifted down in November. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage was 6.24%. It was 6.36% a month earlier -- and 6.33% in October 2005.
By region, new-home sales last month rose 22.4% in the Midwest, 22.5% in the Northeast, and 19% in the West. Demand fell in the South, down 9.3%.
Based on figures unadjusted for seasonal factors, an estimated 72,000 homes were actually sold last month in the U.S., down from 78,000 in October.
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