Sales of new single-family home jumped 6.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 for April, according to a Commerce Department report (link opens a PDF) released today. After clocking in at a 407,000 rate the month before, this latest report exceeded expectations. Analysts predicted a rise, but their 420,000 estimate proved too low.
Source: Census.gov.
On a regional level, ebbs and flows were fairly erratic. While Midwest new-home sales soared 47.4% from March to April, Northeast sales fell 26.7%. Sales in the South edged up 3.1% as new-home sales in the West stayed steady from March. In the past 12 months, national sales of new homes are down 4.2%.
At the current rate of sales, there is an estimated 5.3 months of supply, compared with 5.6 months in March. Even as sales increased, the median price of a new home fell $5,900 to $275,800.
This latest report follows on the heels of a National Association of Realtors report this week that pointed to a 1.3% rise for existing-home sales in April. That report showed that over the past year, the median sales price of existing homes increased 5.2% to $201,700.
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