New Home Inventory Hits Record Low
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WASHINGTON, DC - Sales of newly built, single-family homes inched up 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 units in October, according to newly released data from the U.S. Commerce Department. The gain is from a downwardly revised rate in the previous month, and marks the best pace of new-home sales activity since this May.

New Home Inventory Hits Record Low"Builders have been seeing some marginal improvement in sales activity over the past few months, particularly in select markets where consumer confidence is higher due to improved economic conditions," says Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.

Regionally, new-home sales held unchanged in the Northeast and gained 22.2 percent in the Midwest and 14.9 percent in the West in October. The South was the only region to post a decline, of 9.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the nationwide inventory of new homes for sale held at an all-time record low of just 162,000 units in October, which is a 6.3-month supply at the current sales pace.

 

New and Existing Home Sales, U.S.
FOR
MONTHS'
SINGLE-
CONDO-
SINGLE-
CONDO-
SINGLE-
CONDO-
SOLD
SALE
SUPPLY
TOTAL
FAMILY
MINIUMS
TOTAL
FAMILY
MINIUMS
TOTAL
FAMILY
MINIUMS
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
2006
1,052
537
6.5
6,478
5,677
801
3,450
2,920
530
6.5
6.2
8.0
2007
776
496
9.6
5,184
4,939
713
3,974
3,390
584
9.6
9.3
11.5
2008
485
352
11.2
5,173
4,350
563
3,700
3,110
590
9.3
8.8
14.3
2009
374
232
8.0
5,156
4,566
590
3,283
2,760
523
7.3
7.0
9.3
2010
322
188
6.9
4,908
4,309
599
3,560
3,020
540
8.2
7.9
10.1
2010 - Oct
282
200
8.5
4,380
3,850
534
3,863
3,260
603
10.6
10.2
13.4
Nov
287
196
8.2
4,640
4,080
561
3,717
3,200
517
9.6
9.4
11.3
Dec
331
190
6.9
5,220
4,580
640
3,560
3,020
540
8.2
7.9
10.1
2011 - Jan
310
186
7.2
5,400
4,700
700
3,369
2,920
449
7.5
7.5
7.7
Feb
281
182
7.8
4,920
4,280
640
3,498
2,980
518
8.5
8.4
9.7
Mar
305
178
7.0
5,090
4,440
650
3,520
2,980
540
8.3
8.1
10.0
Apr
316
173
6.6
5,000
4,380
620
3,759
3,216
543
9.0
8.8
10.5
May
308
168
6.5
4,810
4,240
570
3,646
3,128
518
9.1
8.9
10.9
Jun
303
166
6.6
4,840
4,290
550
3,717
3,228
489
9.2
9.0
10.7
Jul
295
166
6.8
4,670
4,120
550
3,686
3,087
599
9.5
9.0
13.1
Aug
293
163
6.7
5,060
4,490
570
3,551
3,064
487
8.4
8.2
10.0
Sep
303
162
6.4
4,900
4,310
590
3,406
2,878
528
8.3
8.0
10.7
Oct
307
162
6.3
4,970
4,380
590
3,330
2,863
467
8.0
7.8
9.5
(1), (2), & (4)-(9) Data are in thousands of units.
(3) & (10)-(12) Number of months.
(1)-(6) Monthly data are seasonally adjusted.
(7)-(12) Monthly data are not seasonally adjusted.
(2) Annual data are a stock number and represent December figure of the given year, not seasonally adjusted.
(3) Annual numbers are end-of-year (December) seasonally adjusted numbers.
(10)-(12) Annual data are an average of the monthly not seasonally adjusted.
(NA) = Not available.
Sources: (1), (2), & (3) U.S. Bureau of the Census; (4) through (12) National Association of Realtors.
Prepared by Economics Department, NAHB. Available at www.HousingEconomics.com
For greater detail and analysis of these and other data, go to HousingEconomics.com
EXISTING HOMES
NEW HOMES
SALES
INVENTORY
MONTHS' SUPPLY

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