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New Home Sales See Sharp Decline

New U.S. single-family home sales are on the decline as is the median home price. The latest release from the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows sales of new single-family homes slipped nearly 13% in July from June's revised rate. However, sales are up more than 4% from July 2018.

The median sales price dipped just south of $313,000, which is down 4.5% from last years, according to Reuters. "Amid strengthening demand for more affordable homes, builders have discounted prices and shifted focus towards more entry-level construction," states a report from Wells Fargo Securities on the declining sales price.

Reuters added that economists predicted sales to be at 649,000 instead of the actual 635,000 announced by the Census Bureau and HUD on Friday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the pace to be at 647,000, also well below June's revision of 728,000. Despite the sharp decline, this was still the best July result since 2007.

Regionally, the Northeast was the only region to see an uptick in sales from June to July. The Midwest, South and West all fell short. "The South and West each gave back some of the massive gains posted in June with respective 16.1% and 14.2% declines," according to Wells Fargo Securities. "The Midwest also dropped 11.1%, while the Northeast jumped 50%."

-Michael Miller, managing editor

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Friday, 29 March 2024

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