New Home Sales Rose 3.6% in July

New single-family home sales rose 3.6% in July to an annualized pace of 372,000 units. July’s gain perfectly offset June’s slowdown as July’s pace matches May’s. Sales growth has been strong in the past year, with July’s level 25.3% better than a year ago. July’s pace matches the fastest pace since April 2010.

July’s strength varied by region, with the Northeast faring the best by far. Sales in the northeast rose 76.5% over the month. The Midwest also saw gains of 7.7% during July. Both the South and the West saw mild slowing of 1.6% and 0.9% respectively.

The month’s supply of new homes on the market fell to 4.6, remaining near historic lows. Much of the low supply is due to the still low level of housing starts, which remain at less than half of their 50- year average.

The median price of a new home fell 2.4% in July to $224,000.

Read the Census report.