New Homes Sales Decline in August
Sales of new single-family houses fell 8.3% in August compared with July, according to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The August pace of 795,000 units was down about 20.5% from August 2006, when 1 million new homes were sold.
The median sale price of new houses sold nationwide in August was $225,700; the average sale price was $292,000.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of August was 529,000. That represents a supply of 8.2 months at the current sales rate.
The National Association of Home Builders blamed turmoil in the mortgage finance system for the drop in new home sales.
“As our surveys have been showing, the credit crunch continues to take a heavy toll on consumers and builders alike,” said Brian Catalde, president of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from El Segundo, California.
“Today’s report shows that the supply-demand imbalance in the single-family housing market still is quite serious, and the imbalance clearly is putting downward pressure on home prices,” said NAHB chief economist David Seiders.
Seiders said the NAHB forecast shows home sales rebounding in early 2008.