Sales of new single-family houses in December 2013 saw single-digit growth over December 2012, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 414,000, according to a report jointly released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While that figure is 7.0 percent below the revised November 2013 rate of 445,000, it is 4.5 percent above the previous December's rate of 396,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in December 2013 was $270,200; the average sales price was $311,400.
Sales of new single-family houses in December 2013 saw single-digit growth over December 2012, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 414,000, according to a report jointly released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While that figure is 7.0 percent below the revised November 2013 rate of 445,000, it is 4.5 percent above the previous December's rate of 396,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in December 2013 was $270,200; the average sales price was $311,400.
"December's decline in new-home sales follows elevated levels in the previous two months and means the fourth quarter was still much stronger than the third," Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Charlotte, N.C., said in a statement. "While we expect sales to gain strength in 2014, builders still face considerable constraints, including tight credit conditions for home buyers and a limited supply of labor and buildable lots."
The government also reported the highest sales level of new-homes in five years for all of 2013. Despite that growth, The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch states that "sales remain far below a peak rate of almost 1.4 million in 2005."
