US new-home sales tumble 11% to record low
Sales of new homes in the United States plunged 11.2 percent in January from December to a historic low, the government reported Wednesday in a fresh sign of weakness in the troubled housing market.
Sales of new single-family houses fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000, from a revised December rate of 348,000, the Commerce Department said.
It was the third consecutive month of declining sales and much worse than the 354,000 rate expected by most analysts.
The pace of new-home sales was the weakest in the official data series begun in January 1963.
January is typically a slow month in home sales as winter weather grips much of the country.
The January reading was 6.1 percent below the year-ago rate of 329,000 units, which was the previous record low.
Home prices continued to slump as consumers were sidelined by worries about the strength of the economic recovery from recession and high unemployment.
The median sales price of new houses -- the mid-point between the highest and lowest prices, was 203,500 dollars in January, down from 215,600 dollars in December.
The average sales price was 254,500 dollars in January, down from 274,400 dollars.
The number of new homes for sale stood at a seasonally adjusted 234,000. At the current sluggish sales pace, it would take 9.1 months for the inventory to be sold.
Copyright 2010  AFP Global Edition
