New Home Sales Fall in June

The new home market took a substantial hit in June, falling 8.4 percent from the month before and erasing nearly all of the gains made in 2012.

New home sales took a tumble in June, reversing the gains of the first half of 2012 with the lowest reading since January.

New single-family home sales in June set a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 350,000, 8.4 percent behind May's revised rate of 382,000 units. The June rate is 15.1 percent above the June 2011 estimate of only 304,000 homes sold, but the new reading is the biggest month-to-month decline of the year. The reading, though not yet indicative of a larger trend, could be an early indicator that the slowing of the larger economy over the summer is erasing the nascent improvements in the housing market.

Two of the four regions tallied (Northeast, Midwest, South and West) improved in June; home sales in the Midwest increased by 14.6 percent, from 48,000 to 55,000 units sold, seasonally adjusted. The biggest decline was in the Northeast, plunging 60 percent from May to June with a reported 16,000 units sold, down from 40,000 the month before. Sales in the South also declined 8.6 percent, from 198,000 to 181,000 in June.

The average home sale price was $273,900 and dropped 1.5 percent from last month; June's median price was $232,600, whereas May's median price was $237,100, a 1.9 percent monthly decline. The current sales rate represents a market supply of 4.9 months, which is lower than historical norms ?EUR??,,????'??? a healthy market should support about a six-month supply to prevent shortages.