By Dees Stribling | MHN Online
New home sales came in at an annualized rate of 468,000 units in January, according to the Census Bureau on Wednesday, an unexpectedly large increase. That’s 9.6 percent more than during December, 2.2 percent higher than during January 2013, and in fact the highest sales rate since 2008.
Even so, the January 2014 rate still compares poorly to historic rates. During the economic trough of 2010 and ’11, new homes sales were at 50-year lows. The January rate, while better than that, still compares to the worst sales rates of previous recessions, namely the slumps of the 1970s and early ’80s. A more “normal” rate would be between 600,000 and 800,000 new units sold in a year.
The bureau also estimated that the median sales price for new houses in January was $260,100, while the average came in at $322,800. The number of new houses for sale at the end of January was 184,000 units, which represents a 4.7-month supply at the current rate of sales. A “normal,” or pre-recession range, is about six months’ supply.
