WASHINGTON — The pace of new single-family home sales decreased by 9.3% to 625,000 in December.
This follows a downward revision to the sales pace in November and October, data released by the Commerce Department Thursday showed.
The sales pace came in well below expectations of 679,000, based on an MNI survey of economists.
The supply of new homes for sale was up 3.9% to 295,000 in December. Based on the movements in sales and supply in December, the months' supply rose 16.3%, the largest percentage increase since July 2013, to 5.7 months from 4.9 months in November, above the 5.6 months supply a year ago.
Despite the supply of new homes rising, the median sales price saw a 0.1% increase to $335,400, making it the highest on record since the series start in January 1963. The average sales price also saw a rise to $398,900, also the highest on record.
Sales declined in all regions, with the South being the most notable, seeing a 9.8% fall to 331,000, the largest percentage decrease since March 2015. Sales fell 9.5% in the West to 190,000, while the Northeast saw a 2.4% decrease to 41,000, and the Midwest saw a decline of 10.0% to 63,000.
New home sales in November were revised down to a 689,000 rate from the 733,000 rate previously reported, while October sales were revised down to a 599,000 rate from the 624,000 pace previously reported.
