Post by bot on Sept 26, 2013 19:38:03 GMT -5
New U.S. home sales rise to 421,000 rate in August
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of new U.S. homes rose 7.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 421,000 in August, rebounding after a large drop in July, as three of four regions posted gains, according to government data released Wednesday. That 7.9% growth was the fastest sales pace since January. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected sales to climb higher in August to a rate of 420,000, compared with an original July estimate that pegged the rate at 394,000. On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Commerce revised July's rate to 390,000. Pent-up demand and relatively low interest rates are supporting sales, though there's concern that rising mortgage rates are cutting into the housing market's recovery. Looking longer-term, new-home sales in August were up 12.6% from the year-earlier period. The median price of new homes was $254,600 last month, up 0.6% from the year-earlier period. The supply of new homes on the U.S. market fell to five months at the current sales pace from 5.2 months in July.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of new U.S. homes rose 7.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 421,000 in August, rebounding after a large drop in July, as three of four regions posted gains, according to government data released Wednesday. That 7.9% growth was the fastest sales pace since January. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected sales to climb higher in August to a rate of 420,000, compared with an original July estimate that pegged the rate at 394,000. On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Commerce revised July's rate to 390,000. Pent-up demand and relatively low interest rates are supporting sales, though there's concern that rising mortgage rates are cutting into the housing market's recovery. Looking longer-term, new-home sales in August were up 12.6% from the year-earlier period. The median price of new homes was $254,600 last month, up 0.6% from the year-earlier period. The supply of new homes on the U.S. market fell to five months at the current sales pace from 5.2 months in July.
