New home sales weak again in December
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 4, 2008
December's new single-family home sales were down 4.7% from November and 40.7% below the December 2006 mark, according to Department of Commerce figures released Jan. 28. The seasonally adjusted rate was 604,000 units.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of December was 495,000. This represents a supply of 9.6 months at the current sales rate.
The Commerce Department estimates that 774,000 new homes were sold in 2007, 26.4% below the 2006 figure of 1,051,000.
Regionally, the Northeast posted a 6% month-over-month gain, while other regions showed declines in sales from November to December: a 6.5% drop in the South, 6% in the West and 1.2% in the Midwest. All regions were down substantially on a year-over-year basis, ranging from a 27.4% drop in the Northeast to a 55.8% nosedive in the Midwest.
| U.S. | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New homes sold (in thousands) | 604 | 53 | 80 | 330 | 141 |
| Change from | |||||
| November 2007 | -4.7% | 6.0% | -1.2% | -6.5% | -6.0% |
| December 2006 | -40.7% | -27.4% | -55.8% | -36.3% | -42.9% |
