US August New Homes Sales

BY

Sales of new homes rose unexpectedly in August while the median price of a new home fell for the first time since December 2003.

The rise in August comes after a July s figure was revised lower.

New home sales rose 4.1 pct to 1.050 mln units in August from July s downwardly revised 1.009 mln units.

1.072 mln units were sold in July.
The median price of a new sold home rose 0.3 pct in August to 237,000 usd.

Median prices have fallen 1.3 pct in the past year, the first decline since December 2003.

The inventory of new homes on the market fell 0.4 pct to 568,000 units from July s record inventory of 570,000 units.

If the rate of sales stays at levels seen in August, the supply of new homes on the market would take 6.6 months to sell, down from July s record rate of 7 months.

Sales rose in every region except the West, where they fell 17.7 pct to 228,000 units. That's the lowest level of homes sold in the West since November 2001.