Buyers are beginning to show their increasing demand for housing by purchasing more homes since the end of the financial crisis, but inventory remains an issue.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the HUD reported Wednesday that sales of new single-family houses rose 10 point 8 percent from November 2015 to December 2015 to an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of 544 thousand. In November, the revised rate of new home sales was 491 thousand. Year-over-year, new single-family home sales are up 9 point 9 percent above the December 2014 estimate of 495 thousand. The data estimates that a total of 501 thousand new homes were sold in 2015, up 14 point 5 percent above the 2014 figure of 437 thousand.
As their first meeting of the year came to a close, the Federal Open Market Committee agreed to leave the federal funds rate at its current level due to economic worries. The FOMC minutes released Wednesday afternoon showed that Fed officials are concerned about inflation still running below the target level of 2 percent. This hindrance is partially the fault of falling energy prices and prices of non-energy imports. The Fed did not back off of their previous forecast for more rate hikes in 2016, but with the economy in a questionable state, the committee is just not certain when the rates will go up again.