November New Home Sales Best Since Homebuyer Tax Credit Expired Jan 2, 2013

Printable format  Email this Article  Search

November 2012 sales of new single-family houses in the United States were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 377,000, up 4.4% from the revised October rate of 361,000 and up 15.3% from November 2011's 327,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. November marked the highest one-month total since the federal homebuyer tax credit expired in April 2009.

"Prospective home buyers who have been sitting on the fence for years are moving back into the market due to continuing low mortgage interest rates, attractive pricing and the improving economy," said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, FL.

"This increase is consistent with NAHB's member surveys, which show increasing confidence in the market," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "We're projecting a total of about 365,000 new-home sales in 2012, an increase of almost 20% over the previous year. The year ahead will see a similar gain as more people who have been sitting on the sidelines decide that it is time to purchase a new home."

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of November 2012 was 149,000. This is 4.7-month supply at the current pace of sales.

Back to Daily News