(Greenwich, 9/27/2006) Sales of new one-family houses in August 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,050,000, according today’s U.S. Census Bureau/HUD New Residential Sales in August, 2006 Report. This is 4.1% above July but 17.4% below August 2005. The median sales price of new houses sold in August 2006 was $237,000, just under its $240,100 level a year earlier but down 7.8% from its peak of $257,000 in April. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of August was 568,000, 6.6 months supply at the current sales rate compared with 4.3 months supply a year ago.
JR
Dr. John
This is likely a very basic question, so excuse the ignorance. Do you know why new home starts are so much higher than new home sales. I’ve looked at the data for the last 4 decades and starts are always 40-60% higher on average (boom and recessions). If starts are ALWAYS higher than sales wouldn’t there be a continuously increasing level of inventory. I know that as the absolute number ot total housing units increase, one needs more inventory to act as the same % level of cushion but this factor alone does not seem to explain all the difference.
Red Beard
Red,
That’s not a dumb question. That’s a cool question. I will look into the data and see what’s up. Could just be just that it’s like having sex–a lot more starts than completions.
JR