New Home Sales Inch Up but Still Dismal

Sales of newly built homes sold at an annualized rate of 352,000 units in April, a meager increase from the previous month with the luxury market continuing to suffer tremendously. Compared to same month a year ago, sales fell by 34%. However, according to government figures released Thursday morning, there could be two minor bright spots in the numbers: the supply of new homes for sale declined to 10.1 months, the lowest reading since August of last year, and the median sale price actually rose -- to $209,700 from $202,200 in March. (The supply of new homes for sale peaked in January at 12.4 months.) As far as actual sales are concerned, 33,000 new homes closed in April with a majority of them selling at $400,000 or less. In the "jumbo" or luxury category ($750,000 and over) just 1,000 newly constructed homes sold nationwide, according to figures compiled by the Census Bureau, and Department of Housing and Urban Development. On Wednesday the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing single-family homes rose by 2.5% in April from the previous month.