U.S. new home sales up 18%, prices up 5%

 

New single-family home sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 284,000 in January, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, up 18.6 percent from the same month a year earlier, with a standard deviation of 15.4 percent. The seasonally adjusted estimate for new houses for sale at the end of last month hit 188,000, representing a 7.9 percent increase in the month supply of homes, if the sales rate were to remain the same. The median sales price of new homes sold last month reached $230,600, up from $218,200 during January 2010, marking a roughly 5.4 percent climb. Representatives from the commerce department were not available for comment. TRD

About Stefan