New home sales up for month, down for year

WASHINGTON – Jan. 26, 2007 – Sales of new one-family houses in December 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,120,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or 4.8 percent above the revised November rate of 1,069,000 and 11.0 percent below the December 2005 estimate of 1,259,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in December 2006 was $235,000; the average sales price was $290,100. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of December was 537,000, a supply of 5.9 months at the current sales rate.

For the year, sales of new homes plunged 17.3 percent, the biggest drop in 16 years. An estimated 1,061,000 new homes sold in 2006, below the 2005 figure of 1,283,000.
 

© 2007 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS