The housing industry got a double dose of bad reports Tuesday as the U.S. Department of Commerce said new-home sales fell 7.1 percent in March and S&P Indices said data through February showed home prices fell 3.5 percent over the preceding 12 months.
Sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 328,000 units in March, down from a rate of 353,000 units in February. Compared with last year's figure in March, however, sales are up 7.5 percent. Regionally, new-home sales activity was mixed in March, with the Northeast and South posting gains of 7.7 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, while the Midwest and West registered respective 20 percent and 27 percent declines.
"Some new-home sales that would have happened this March were likely pulled forward as a result of exceedingly good weather conditions across much of the country in February, when we recorded the quickest sales pace since the end of the home buyer tax credit," said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla.
Meanwhile, the pace of decline in home values lessened in March, according to S&P Indices. In January, home prices fell about 3.9 percent. Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks through February 2012, the decline for both S&P Indices' 10-City and 20-City Composites is approximately 35 percent. February's levels are new lows for both Composites in the current housing cycle.
Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Seattle and Tampa Bay hit new post-crisis lows, S&P reported. Miami, Phoenix and San Diego recorded positive monthly returns in February.
