New home sales in October reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 495,000 units, an increase of 10.7% compared with the revised September rate of 447,000 units and an increase of 4.9% compared with the October 2014 estimate of 472,000, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The median sales price of a new home sold in October was $281,500; the average sales price was $366,000.
As of the end of October there were about 226,000 new homes for sale – about a 5.5-month supply at the current sales rate.
‘Our builders are reporting continued optimism in the housing market, and are adding inventory in anticipation of future business,’ says Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in a release.
‘Sales this year are running 15.7 percent ahead of 2014,’ adds David Crowe, chief economist for NAHB. ‘With a firming job market, affordable home prices, and rising pent-up demand, today's report is another indicator that the housing market continues to move on a modest upward trajectory.’
New-home sales increased in three of the four regions tracked. Sales rose 135.3% in the Northeast, 8.9% in the South and 5.3% in the Midwest. Sales fell 0.9% in the West.