New Homes Sales Fall Again; Down 7.6%

Headline Alert

Economic Update: New Home Sales

The Commerce Department reported that New Home Sales for December were reported at an annualized rate of 342K, which was well below the consensus expectation for a rate of 366K and November’s revised level of 370K (revised upward from 355K).

The annualized rate for December represents a drop of 7.6% over November’s levels.

Commerce says total sales of New Homes for 2009 were down -22.9% to a record low of 374,000 units.

The number of new homes on the market in December fell by -1.7% to 231K, which is the lowest level since April 1971. The number of new homes on the market now represents 8.1 months’ worth of supply, which is the highest since June 2009 and up from 7.6 months in November.

Stocks have sold off modestly in response to the news.

 

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