New home sales are up once again, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In fact, they even reached at eight-year high, showing that the low mortgage rates combined with a solid job market are improving the economy, according to this article by Josh Boak for ABC News.
“New home sales jumped sharply in June, and marked the best month since February 2008,” Trulia Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin said. “This is a continued sign that demand for homes remains solid and aptly reflects increasing homebuilder confidence.”
Sales of new single-family houses in June 2016 came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592,000, a 3.5% increase from the revised May rate of 572,000 and a 25.4% increase from June 2015 estimate of 472,000.
This increase is higher than what most economist expected, according to Brent Nyitray, director of capital markets for iServe Residential Lending.
“New Home Sales rose to 592k in June, much higher than the Street expectation,” Nyitray said. “The median new home price rose 6.1% YOY to $306,700.”
The median sales price of new homes sold in June was $306,700, while the average sales price was $358,200.
National home prices increased by 5% annually in May, the same as the previous month, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new homes for sale at the end of June was 244,000. This represents a supply of 4.9 months at the current sales rate.
