WASHINGTON—New home sales in January decreased 6.9% from December's upwardly revised 652,000 annualized units to 607,000 units in January, new data from the Census Bureau show.
NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long is projecting new home sales growth will continue to lag in 2019.
"New home sales plunged in January," said Long. "However, the 45,000 unit drop must be weighed against a net 63,000 unit increase in prior month estimates. Those revisions help mitigate the January figure and provide a useful reminder that the market for new homes is small, volatile, and subject to sizable revisions, particularly on the heels of a government shutdown."
Decreases in Three Regions
Sales also decreased in three of the four regions on year-ago comparisons. The Midwest region posted a decrease of 41.9% versus January 2018, followed by the Northeast (-11.4%) and the West (-3.2%). Sales in the South region increased by 6.2% versus a year prior.
Based on current month sales, there were 6.6 months of supply in January, up from 6.3 months in December. The number of unsold homes left on the market fell from 341,000 to 336,000 units. This represents a 14.3% increase from a year ago, Long said.