The Census Bureau has reported dismal new homes sales data for February, 2011. New home sales continued to decline in February 2011 to levels not seen in many decades:
Sales of new single-family houses in February 2011 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 250,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 16.9 percent (±19.1%)* below the revised January rate of 301,000 and is 28.0 percent (±14.8%) below the February 2010 estimate of 347,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in February 2011 was $202,100; the average sales price was $246,000. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of February was 186,000. This represents a supply of 8.9 months at the current sales rate.
Econintersect evaluates using non seasonally adjusted data.
This data is being compared against home sales a year ago which were artificially boosted by first time home buyers government incentives. Year-over-year (YoY) comparisons will be negative until mid year. Even so, the YoY changes plotted show a reversal of what had been improving second derivative trends.
One month is not a trend, but in absolute terms new home sales are dismal.
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