April New Home Sales Jump to 8-Year High
April new home sales sold at the fastest pace in more than eight years, HUD and the Census Bureau reported yesterday.
The report said sales of new single-family houses in April rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000, 16.6 percent higher than March’s revised 531,000 and 23.8 percent higher from a year ago (500,000). HUD/Census also revised upward the previous three months’ sales data, resulting in a 9.0 percent increase for 2016 thus far.
Regionally, sales posted solid gains everywhere except for the Midwest, where sales fell by 4.8 percent to 60,000 units in April from 63,000 in March and fell by 9.1 percent from a year ago. In the Northeast, good weather helped sales jump by nearly 53 percent in April to 55,000 units from 36,000 in March and improved by 323 percent from a year ago, when the pace was just 13,000 units.
In the all-important South region, sales rose by nearly 16 percent to 352,000 units, seasonal annually adjusted, from 304,000 in March and improved by 18.1 percent from a year ago. In the West, sales rose by nearly 19 percent in April to 152,000 units from 128,000 in March and improved by nearly 24 percent from a year ago.
“On the heels of several disappointing months, new home sales bested expectations,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C. “The stronger April report brings new home sales back in line with what most large homebuilders have been reporting and should raise expectations for the year ahead.”
Vitner noted the share of home sales priced under $150,000 fell to 2 percent of sales, down from 5 percent in March, “indicating a waning presence of first-time homebuyers.”
HUD/Census reported the median sales price of new houses sold in April jumped to $321,100, up from $297,000; the average sales price rose to $379,800 from $354,000 in March. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of April fell to 243,000 from 244,000, representing a supply of 4.7 months at the current sales rate.
