New home sales inched forward 2 percent in February, according to new data published by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While this is certainly no windfall, the February rate of 512,000 is a modest improvement from the January rate, which was revised from 494,000 to 502,000.
New home sales have increased gradually since 2011, as builders struggle to keep up with inventory demands. As of last month, there were 240,000 new homes available for buyers, roughly just shy of a 6 month supply.
“The West carried February’s new home sales, while every other region saw declines in purchase activity,” says Quicken Loans vice president Bill Banfield. However, I wouldn’t be too concerned with the recent weakness we’ve been seeing, as the housing market continues its slow but healthy rise overall.”
So what are these new homes selling for? The median new home price for February was $301,400 and the average price came in at $348,900, a drop from its November peak of $376,800.
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