Surging Prices Dampen U.S. New Home Sales in March

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Rising home prices in the U.S. are now impacting new home sales during the spring selling season.
 
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development this week, sales of new single-family houses in the U.S. during March 2014 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000. This is 14.5 percent (±12.9%) below the revised February rate of 449,000 and is 13.3 percent (±9.9%) below the March 2013 estimate of 443,000.
 
The median sales price of new houses sold in March 2014 was $290,000; the average sales price was $334,200. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 193,000. This represents a supply of 6.0 months at the current sales rate.
 
While some may blame harsh winter weather for a slowdown in new home sales, many analyst are thinking that the recent stream of new economic housing data is showing this is more than just related a 'bad weather' related issue as home affordability continues to decline for many against fast rising home prices in many U.S. cities.