US New Home Sales Rose 0.3% In April

Source : The Business Times, May 28, 2009

WASHINGTON - Sales of newly built US single-family homes rose slightly less than expected in April, a government report showed on Thursday, and the previous month's figures were revised down to show a steeper fall.

The Commerce Department said sales rose 0.3 per cent to a 352,000 annual pace, from a downwardly revised 351,000 in March. March sales were revised to show a 3 per cent decline, which had been reported as a 0.6 per cent slide.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 360,000 rate in April.

The median sales price in April fell 14.9 per cent to US$209,700 from a year earlier, the department said. The median marks the half-way point, with half of all houses sold above that level and half below. However compared to March, the median price was up 3.7 per cent, the biggest increase since November.

The inventory of homes available for sale in April fell 4.2 per cent to 297,000, the lowest level since May 2001. April's sales pace left the supply of homes available for sale at 10.1 months' worth, the lowest since a matching reading in July. -- REUTERS