Sales of newly built single-family homes did little to break out at the end of summer. New-home sales plunged 3.4 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000, the lowest sales reading since December 2016, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That’s despite the fact that the number of new homes<\/a> on the market was at its highest level since July 2014.<\/p>\n The disconnect may be more about the types of new-home construction\u00a0favored by the industry at the moment. \u201cThis month\u2019s report is another reminder that builders need to manage rising supply-side costs to meet consumer demand for affordably priced homes,\u201d says Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.<\/p>\n Sales last month dropped by the largest amount in the South, falling 4.7 percent month over month. Hurricane Harvey struck the Houston area last month, and Hurricane Irma\u2019s damage to Florida likely will have an impact on sales over the next few months, the builder\u2019s trade group says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe may see more volatility in the next few months as communities affected by the recent hurricanes experience construction delays and other economic disruptions,\u201d says Robert Dietz, NAHB\u2019s chief economist.<\/p>\n Still, new home sales were 7.5 percent higher than the same period a year ago. The inventory of new homes for sale<\/a> in August was 284,000, a 6.1-month supply at the current sales pace.\u00a0The median sales price of a new home in August was $300,200.<\/p>\n Source: National Association of Home Builders and \u201cU.S. New-Home Sales Declined in August,\u201d The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 26, 2017) [Log-in required.]<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Realtors.org <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/realtormag.realtor.org\/sites\/realtormag.realtor.org\/files\/rmo_files\/images\/2017_sept\/regional_nhs_0817.png\")
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