July home sales soar

August 26, 8:53 AMReal Estate News ExaminerBroderick Perkins

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Sales of new, single-family homes in July this year, nationwide, rose 9.6 percent above June's numbers, the biggest month-to-month jump in four years.

Unfortunately, new home sales remained 13.4 percent below last July's sales.

The National Association of Homebuilders' office is closed this week as a recession-era cost savings effort.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census' new release today said the median price of new homes sold in July was $210,100, the average $269,200.

The report said builders sold 433,000 newly constructed homes in July, up from 395,000 in June. The number of new homes on the market slipped to the lowest level in 16 years.

The new home sales report comes on the heels of a similar National Association of Realtor's report last week that said, for the first time in five years, existing-home sales increased in July for four months in a row. Sales rose 7.2 percent from June to July and were 5.0 percent above July 2008 sales.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $178,400 in July, 15.1 percent lower than July 2008 as distressed properties weigh down the median price.

For new homes in the Midwest, sales slipped 7.6 percent from June and were down 4.7 percent from July 2008. The Midwest was the only region of the country where new home sales posted a decrease between activity in June and July. Sales rose 1 percent in the West, 16.2 percent in the South and 32.4 percent in the Northeast.

Sales gains on new homes and rising purchases of existing homes may point to an end to a housing slump as the Federal Reserve's efforts to thaw credit and the Obama administration's homebuyer incentives and homeowner assistance efforts lift demand.

Continued job losses and mounting foreclosures, however, could limit the housing rebound.