Sales of new single-family houses fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000 in January, down 10.2 percent from December’s 344,000 rate, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday.
According to data, last month’s sales rate was 48.2 percent below the January 2008 estimate of 597,000.
The West saw the weakest sales activity between December and January, with transactions declining 28 percent to a seasonally adjusted 59,000, followed by the South (down 6.5 percent to 172,000) and the Midwest (down 5.6 percent to 51,000). The Northeast, however, reported a 12.5 percent jump to a 27,000 sales rate.
The median sales price of new houses sold nationwide in January was $201,100, down 9.9 percent from December and 13.5 percent from a year ago.
New houses for sale at the end of January hit a seasonally adjusted estimate of 342,000, which represents a supply of 13.3 months at the current sales rate.
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