Oct. 25, 2012 – New-home sales in September rose to their highest annualized sales level since early 2010, but NAFCU Staff Economist Curt Long cautioned that a number of downside risks remain that could thwart the housing recovery.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new-home sales in September reached 389,000 units, annualized. “That was up 5.7 percent from August and 27.1 percent from the previous year,” Long noted.
The median new-home price fell from $250,400 in August to $242,400 in September on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.
Total months of supply of new homes for sale dropped to 4.5 months as sales grew faster than new-home inventories. “Homebuilder confidence increased for the fifth month in a row as home affordability continued to attract buyers,” Long said. “In addition, housing starts rose 15 percent in September compared with the previous month.”
While these are all positive indicators, the housing market recovery “still has hurdles to overcome with persistent high unemployment and strict lending conditions,” Long said.