New Residential Sales Slump in January

The median sales price of new houses sold in January 2011 was $230,600; the average sales price was $260,300. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of January was 188,000. This represents a supply of 7.9 months at the current sales rate.

Sales of new single-family houses in January 2011 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 284,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This shows how savvy investors and potential home buyers are about the market, which still hasn't hit rock bottom. Thousands of foreclosed homes haven't been released by the banks yet.

This is 12.6 percent (plus or minus 11.2 percent) below the revised December rate of 325,000 and is 18.6 percent (plus or minus 15.4 percent) below the January 2010 estimate of 349,000. The West was the region that fared the best in the past year, declining 15.4 percent, while the Midwest did the worst at a decline of 25.5 percent.

- Courtesy of US Census Bureau