Sales of new single-family houses in September came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000, up 18.9% from the revised August rate of 561,000 and 17.0% above the September 2016 estimate of 570,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said Wednesday.
The median sales price of new houses sold in September 2017 was $319,700, up from $303,800 in August and $314,800 a year earlier. The average sales price was $385,200, up from $364,300 in August and $366,100 in September, 2016.
All regions posted gains, with the South up 25.8% from August to a rate of 405,000, 23.1% ahead of a year earlier. The West was up a more modest 2.9% to a rate of 141,000, 4.4% ahead of September, 2016. The Midwest chalked up a gain of 10.6% to 73,000, off 2.7% from a year earlier. The Northeast, data for which is notoriously fickle, gained 33.3% to a rate of 48,000, 54.8% ahead of last year.
The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of September was 279,000, a supply of 5.0 months at the current sales rate.
