New residential sales up and down in January

By: Lee Fehrenbacher//February 27, 2012//

New residential sales up and down in January

Lee Fehrenbacher//February 27, 2012//

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New residential housing sales continued to roller coaster in January, dropping 0.9 percent to an annual rate of 321,000.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau most recent report released Feb. 24, that’s 2 percent above November’s rate and 3.5 percent above the rate in January 2011, but 3 percent below a relative high point in December 2010 of 331,000 annual home sales.

The median sales price of new homes sold in January 2012 increased 3 percent from December, to $217,100. The average sales price declined 1 percent, to $261,600.

The seasonally adjusted estimate for new houses for sale at the end of January 2012 was 151,000, which represents a supply of 5.6 months.