Washington, DC, July 27, 2006-- Sales of new homes fell 3% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.13 million, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Revisions to previous months' sales show a softer market than previously reported.
May's sales pace was revised down to a 1.17 million pace from 1.23 million reported last month. Sales in the first six months of the year were down 11.9% to 598,000 from the 679,000 in the first six months of 2005.
June sales were lower than the 1.16 million expected by economists.
The inventory of unsold homes on the market rose by 0.7% to a record 566,000, representing a 6.1-month supply at the June sales pace.
The median sales price was up 2.3% year-over-year at $231,300. It's the lowest median sales price since July 2005. The average sales price is up 3.9% in the past year at $290,600. The sales prices are not seasonally adjusted.
The standard error is so high, in fact, that the government cannot be sure sales decreased at all in June. The 3% decline in June is statistically meaningless.
Sales increased 8.2% in the West. They fell 11.3% in the Northeast, 7.9% in the Midwest and 6% in the South.
