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Sales
of New Homes
Increase in
April
Article
Date - May.24.2006 |
|
Sales
of new single-family
homes were up
4.9 percent
in April to
a seasonally
adjusted annual
rate of 1.198
million units,
following a
substantial
downward revision
to sales for
the first quarter
of the year,
the U.S. Commerce
Department reported
today. Year-to-date,
new-home sales
for the first
four months
of the year
were down 11.2
percent from
the same period
last year.
“The rebound
in sales in
April, as reported
by the government,
was somewhat
surprising but
not that unrealistic
considering
the downward
revisions that
accompanied
it,” said
National Association
of Home Builders
(NAHB) President
David Pressly,
a home builder
from Statesville,
N.C. “Indeed,
builders are
seeing a tapering
off of demand
and NAHB’s
Housing Market
Index survey
of builders
fell to a level
of 45 in May,
the lowest reading
since mid-1995.”
“The
reported rebound
in new-home
sales for April
certainly is
welcome news,
although the
substantial
downward revisions
for the first
quarter of the
year left the
sales pace well
below 2005 on
a year-to-date
basis,”
said NAHB Chief
Economist David
Seiders. “We
continue to
believe that
the housing
market is cooling
down in an orderly
fashion from
the record pace
last year, largely
because of a
pullback by
investors/speculators.
NAHB’s
current forecast
shows about
a 13 percent
decline in new-home
sales for 2006
as a whole.”
Three of four
regions across
the country
posted increased
sales of new
homes in April.
Sales were up
in the Northeast
by 8.2 percent,
in the South
by 7.8 percent
and in the West
by 2.0 percent.
Sales in the
Midwest were
down by 1.1%.
All regions
were down substantially
on a year-to-date
basis.
The inventory
of new homes
for sale rose
to 565,000 units
at the end of
April, a 5.8
months’
supply at the
current sales
pace. All of
the increase
was for-sale
units that were
not yet started,
which represented
20 percent of
the inventory
level.
Units still
under construction
were almost
57 percent of
the inventory,
and completed
homes for sale
were 23 percent
of the total
? about the
same as a year
earlier. The
median length
of time that
completed homes
for sale were
on the market
was four months
in April, compared
with 4.4 months
a year earlier. |
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