Inman

New-home sales bloom in June

Sales of new single-family houses rose in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.37 million, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This is approximately 4 percent above the revised May rate of 1.32 million and is roughly 14 percent above the June 2004 estimate of 1.21 million.

All four regions across the country posted a higher home sales pace in June from the month before. The Northeast posted a 7.2 percent increase; sales in the Midwest were up 2.1 percent; sales in the South increased 5.1 percent; and sales in the West nudged up 2.8 percent.

The median sales price of new houses sold in June 2005 was $214,800, down 0.4 percent from $215,700 reported a year ago. The average sales price for a new home in June was $267,400, up 1.6 percent from June 2004 when the average price was $263,200.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June was 454,000, which represents a supply of four months at the current sales rate.

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