Although sales of existing homes fell 5.1% in January, compared to December, to reach the lowest level in a year and a half, sales of new single-family homes jumped 9.6%, due mainly to limited inventory and strong demand for new construction, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
As per a press release, sales of new single-family houses in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000. This is well above the revised annualized rate of 427,000 units for December – and 2.2% above the January 2013 estimate of 458,000 units.
The median sales price of new houses sold in January was $260,100; the average sales price was $322,800.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of January was 184,000. This represents a supply of 4.7 months at the current sales rate, according to the Census Bureau/HUD report.