New Home Sales Make Massive February Move

Photo of Paul Ausick
By Paul Ausick Updated Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
New Home Sales Make Massive February Move

© Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”506829″ placement=”ros”]After Wednesday’s disappointing report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on February sales of existing homes, Thursday’s report on new home sales should bring some joy back to Mudville. New home sales posted a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for the month of 592,000, solidly above January’s SAAR of 558,000 and well above the consensus estimate of 565,000.

The February total is 6.1% higher than the January rate and 12.8% higher than the SAAR in February 2016. The median sales price of new houses sold in February was $296,200 and the average sales price was $390,400.

The adjusted estimate of homes for sale at the end of February was 266,000, a supply of 5.4 months at the current rate of sales.

[nativounit]

On a percentage basis, 36% of new homes sold in February were priced between $200,000 and $299,000, up five points month over month and up seven points year over year. The percentage of homes sold priced between $300,000 and $399,000 fell by 11 points month over month and rose by three points year over year.

Of the 49,000 new homes sold in February, 17,000 were priced between $200,000 and $299,000 and 8,000 were priced between $300,000 and $399,000.

Sales of existing homes fell by 3.7%, according to the NAR’s report published Wednesday. The median sale price for existing homes rose 7.7% year over year to $228,400. Unsold inventory totaled 1.75 million homes for sale, a supply of just 3.8 months.

[wallst_email_signup]

Photo of Paul Ausick
About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618