New-Home Sales Slip Again

New-home sales slipped by 1.7% in January compared with those of the previous month, according to new figures compiled by the U.S. Commerce Department.However, compared with sales in the same month a year ago, new-home sales rose 9.6% to 1.106 million units. The government says there is a 4.1-month supply of new homes for sale, the highest such reading since April of last year. According to Greenwich Capital analyst Steve Stanley, the January figure is "the eighth straight reading above 1.1 million, a level never seen before last June, but it is also the lowest level since May." The median sales price of a new home was $197,000, and the average sales price was $258,600, the government reported. The Commerce Department can be found online at http://www.doc.gov.