New residential sales down in December 2008

 

For the month of December 2008, sales of new one-family houses are down nearly 45 percent since the previous year.

Sales of new one-family houses in December 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 331,000, according to estimates released by U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 14.7 percent (????????13.9%)* below the revised November of 388,000 and is 44.8 percent (????????10.8%) below the
December 2007 estimate of 600,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in December 2008 was $206,500; the average sales price was $246,900. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of December was 357,000. This represents a supply of 12.9 months at the current sales rate. An estimated 482,000 new homes were sold in 2008. This is 37.8 percent (????????2.7%) below the 2007 figure of 776,000.Courtesy of Economics and Statistics Administration