Report Reveals Year-Over-Year Rise in New Residential Sales

Tallying new residential sales for August, the latest report conducted by the ""U.S. Census Bureau"":www.census.gov/ and the ""Department of Housing and Urban Development"":www.hud.gov/ showed a 27.7 percent increase in sales on a year-over year basis.

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However, July numbers bested findings from August, with sales flagging 0.3 percent month-to-month.

Sales of new single-family houses in August stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 373,000, representing a 0.3 percent drop from the revised July rate of 374,000.

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However, August's sales figures remain 27.7 percent (├âÔÇÜ├é┬▒18.8 percent) above the same month in 2011, during which sales were estimated at 292,000.

Additionally, the seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale as August drew to a close was 141,000, representing a supply of 4.5 months at the current sales rate. The median sales price for new houses sold in August hit $256,900, while the average sales price was $295,300.

On a regional basis, results from the survey revealed that the West and the Northeast have experienced the strongest improvements in the number of new homes sold year-to-date as of August. Data from the West displayed a 39.5 percent uptick in homes sold year-to-date, while the sales in the Northeast rose 30.3 percent year-to-date.

The South and Midwest showed more modest improvements according to the report's analysis. The year-to-date percentage of change for homes sold in the South was 13.9 to end August, while the Midwest displayed a 17.9 percent increase.

Nationwide, the year-to-date change in homes sold was 21.7 percent at the conclusion of August. On another positive note, the country's months' supply of homes declined during the period, dropping by 31.8 percent year-over-year.