Economics
U.S. New-Home Sales Climb to 1 Million Rate, Fastest Since 2006
- Purchases in South region surge to highest since 2005
- Inventory would last 3.3 months at current sales pace
Photographer: Gaia Squarci/Bloomberg
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Sales of new homes in the U.S. unexpectedly advanced for a fourth month in August to the highest level in almost 14 years as record-low mortgage rates continued to entice buyers into a market with ever-shrinking supply.
Purchases of new single-family houses increased 4.8% to a 1 million annualized pace, led by a flurry of demand in the South, after an upwardly revised 14.7% surge in July, government data showed Thursday. The median selling price decreased from a year earlier to $312,800 and the number of homes for sale dropped to an almost three-year low. Economists expected an 890,000 pace, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.