New home sales in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 482,000, a decrease of about 6.8% compared to the revised May rate of 517,000 but 18.1% above the June 2014 estimate of 408,000, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The median sales price of a new home sold in June was $281,800; the average sales price was $328,700.
As of the end of June there was about 215,000 new homes for sale, a 5.4-month supply at the current sales rate.
One of the major challenges builders currently face is that the average cost per square foot for a new home is significantly higher compared to the average cost per square foot for an existing home, thus newer homes tend to be less affordable. What's more, new home prices continue to increase in a majority of markets.
In a statement, Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says despite the drop in June, ‘we continue to hear from our builders that there is solid traffic in sales offices and a lot of consumer interest in new homes, which should bode well for sales moving forward.’
‘We knew that there would be ups and downs on the road back to a normal housing market,’ adds Robert Denk, senior economist for NAHB. ‘As the economy and job growth strengthens, we expect to see gradual, continued momentum in the coming months.’
Regionally, new home sales increased by 28.0% in the Northeast, while the West, Midwest and South posted declines of 17.0%.11.1% and 4.1%, respectively.