Sales of newly constructed homes took a sharp upturn in June, making the month the best for new home sales since the eve of the housing crash. New statistics from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau showed sales of new single-family houses in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592 thousand. This is 3 point 5 percent above the revised May rate of 572 thousand and is 25 percent above the estimate of 472 thousand from June 2015. June was the best month for new home sales since February 2008.
Realtor dot com Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said of June's new home sales report, quote, Although the key observations for June are statistically insignificant, the year-to-date trend is clearly positive: Actual new homes sold reported so far this year are up 11 percent over the first half of 2015. Plus the increase in the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of new home sales beat analyst expectations. At the June pace of new home sales, the market is up 25 percent over last year, when mortgage rates were rising. Close quote
Home prices across the U.S. climbed for the 49th straight month in May, though the rate of acceleration eased for the fourth consecutive month, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case Schiller U.S. National Home Price Index. Year over year, the report found that in 10 cities, home prices gained 5 percent in May, the same as the prior month, and 4 point 4 percent over May 2015. This was, however, down from the 4 point 7 increase over May 2015 the previous month.