New home sales plunged 12.8% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 635,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. The large drop was attributed to a sharply revised sales rate for June (from 646,000 units to 728,000) by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The July rate is up 4.1% from July 2018.
“While we continue to see volatility in the monthly numbers, sales continue to trend in a slightly positive direction,” NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz stated.
Regionally, year-over-year new home sales fell 15.4% in the Northeast and 12.4 in the Midwest. Sales increased 7.2% and 9.5% in the South and West, respectively.
There was an inventory of 337,000 new homes for sale at the end of July, representing a 6.4-month supply at the current sales pace. The median sales price for a new home is $312,800.
