Sales of new single-family houses in August fell 3.4% from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000, a 1.2% decline from August 2016, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The sequential declines were modest across all regions, with the Northeast down 2.6% at a pace of 38,000, the Midwest flat at 69,000, the South down 4.7% to 307,000 and the West down 2.7% to 146,000. Compared to August 2016, the Midwest and West were up, 4.5% and 4.3% respectively, while the South was down 9.2%. The statistically fickle Northeast posted a gain of 65.2%.
The median sales price of new houses sold in August 2017 fell to $300,200 from $319,900 in July but remained ahead of last August’s $298,900. The average sales price was $368,100, down from $371,300 in July but up from $355,100 in August, 2016.
The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of August was 284,000, up from 274,00 in July, representing a supply of 6.1 months at the current sales rate.
