Dive Brief:
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The reported 18% spurt in new home sales in August wasn’t as robust as it seemed, now that the Commerce Department has revised the figure downward from an annual pace of 504,000 new homes to 466,000.
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Also on Friday, Commerce announced that sales of single-family homes inched upward in September—by 0.2%—to a seasonally adjusted rate of 467,000 units. Still, that’s higher than any month since July 2008, and 17% higher than in September 2013.
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The report also indicated that builders ramped up the stock of new houses by 1.5%—the highest in four years. Meanwhile, the median new home price fell 4% since fall 2013, to $259,000.
Dive Insight:
Analysts said slow growth in home sales is still growth, and predicted that the housing recovery will continue its sluggish upward pace. Still, last week’s dip in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, coupled with an announcement that down payments may drop to as low as 3%—down from the typical 20%—could ratchet up sales.