New Home Sales Rise 2% in February

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Wednesday morning that sales of new homes in February rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 512,000, an increase of 2% from the revised January rate of 502,000 and a decrease of 6.1% compared with the February 2015 rate of 545,000. The consensus estimate from a survey of economists expected a rate of around 510,000. The January rate was revised upward by 8,000.

At the peak in 2005, new home sales posted a seasonally adjusted annual rate of nearly 1.4 million.

The Census Bureau also reported that the median sales price for new homes sold in February rose by more than $22,000 from $278,800 in January to $301,400, and the average sales price slipped by $16,800 to $348,900. At the end of February, the number of new homes for sale totaled 240,000 and represented a supply of 5.6 months at the current sales rate.
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In February, 49% of the estimated 44,000 monthly sales were for homes priced at less than $300,000. The percentage is eight points lower than the January rate. Sales of homes priced between $300,000 and $399,999 rose by seven points to 25% of all sales. Sales of homes in the range of $400,000 to $499,999 remained flat at 13%, and sales rose from 8% to 9% for homes sold in a range of $500,000 to $749,999. Home sales for properties priced above $750,000 accounted for 6% of all new home sales in February, unchanged from January.