Industry Reports Show Upward Trends in Home Sales and Prices

The housing market is showing no signs of slowing down as new single-family home sales in May 2015 rose 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000, the highest rate since February 2008, according to new residential sales data released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. The revised April rate was 534,000 and the May 2015 data is 19.5 percent above the last May’s estimate of 457,000.

The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Chairman and home builder from Blue Springs, Missouri, Tom Woods noted that, “Our builders are seeing motivated buyers and the release of pent-up housing demand,” Woods said. “However, builders are facing supply chain challenges, which is affecting the inventory of new homes.”

The Bureau reported that the median sales price of new houses sold in May 2015 was $282,800, while the average sales price was $337,000. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 206,000.

“This month’s new-home sales report is consistent with other government data and rising builder confidence that indicate a continual recovery of the housing market,” said David Crowe, NAHB chief economist. “The uptick in existing-home sales bodes well for builders, as it shows that the sellers are able to buy a new home.”

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) also released their Home Price Index (HPI) report today and found that U.S. house prices increased by 0.3 percent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month. The FHFA also reported that the 0.3 change in March remains unchanged. The FHFA HPI data is taken from home sales price information on mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The FHFA determined that home prices were up 5.3 percent from April 2014 to April 2015, and the U.S. index is 2.3 percent below its peak in March 2007 and is about the same as the February 2006 index.

Click here to view the Census Bureau and HUD New Residential Sales Data.

Click here to view the Federal Housing Financial Agency Home Price Index Report.