New Home Sales

New home sales fell to a record low in July, dropping 12% to 276,000 annualized units from 315,000 in June.  Economists had expected sales to be unchanged from June's inital reading of 330,000 (revised down to 315,000).  The median sales price of a new home dipped 4.8% to $204,000 compared to a year earlier; this was the lowest since late 2003.  Sales fell in all four regions, led by a 25% drop in the West.  The supply of homes on the  market increased; based on July’s sales pace, it will take 9.1 months of sales at the current pace to eliminate the existing  inventory, compared to June's 8 months of supply.

Summary:  Sales of new homes unexpectedly dropped to the lowest pace on record in July with the median price of a new home falling to the lowest level since 2003.  New home sales now account for roughly 5% of all home sales.

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