Economy

New Home Sales up 9.6 Percent in January
Written by Sandy Williams
February 27, 2014
Sales of new single family homes rose 9.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000 in January from a revised December rate of 427,000, according to data released by the US Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The year-over-year increase of home sales was 2.2 percent above the January 2013 estimate of 458,000.
The January median sales price was $260,100 and the average sales price was $322,800. Inventory is still limited with the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of January at 184,000—a 4.7 month supply at the current sales rate.
The National Association of Home Builders says cold weather had little effect on sales in January. “However, the very low supply of new homes on the market and the continued concern of available buildable lots still have builders cautious about getting ahead of themselves,” said Kevin Kelly, Chairman of NAHB.
Regionally, the South, West and Northeast made strong sales gains, up 10.4 percent, 11.0 percent and 73.7 percent, respectively. Midwest sales of new homes fell by 17.2 percent for the month.
“We saw a weaker sales number in December 2013 than was previously trending, and I think much of January’s increase is due to sales catching up with pent up demand,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Still, there is little doubt that historically low interest rates, affordable home prices and a healing economy are bringing buyers back into the marketplace.”

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Economy

Steel groups welcome passage of budget bill
Steel trade groups praised the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) in Congress on Thursday.

Industry groups praise Senate for passing tax and budget bill
The Steel Manufacturers Association and the American Iron and Steel Institute applauded the tax provisions included in the Senate's tax and budget reconciliation bill.

Chicago PMI dips 0.1 points in June
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) slipped 0.1 points to 40.4 points, in June.

Multi-family pullback drives housing starts to 5-year low in May
US housing starts tumbled in May to a five-year low, according to figures recently released by the US Census Bureau.

Architecture firms still struggling, ABI data shows
Architecture firms reported a modest improvement in billings through May, yet business conditions remained soft, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) release from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.