Home Sales Spring Into Gear
May 22, 2018
Sales of new and existing homes were on the rise in March, but not all the news was rosy for would-be buyers.
March New Home Sales rose 4 percent from February to an annual rate of 694,000, the Commerce Department reported. This was a four-month high. Sales also were up 8.8 percent from March 2017. There were considerable differences in sales around the country, however. In the Northeast, sales plunged 54.8 percent, while sales in the West soared to their highest level since December 2006, up 28.3 percent. There was a 5.2-month supply of new homes available for sale, below the 6-month level seen as normal.
Inventory of existing homes for sale fared much worse in March, as there was just a 3.6-month supply of homes available. Despite the limited inventory, March Existing Home Sales rose 1.1 percent from February to an annual rate of 5.60 million units, per the National Association of REALTORS®. However, sales were down 1.2 percent from March 2017 due in part to continued low inventories and affordability issues.
Article courtesy of Michael Fawver
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