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Single-family home sales run flat in January

More worrisome, single-family starts slide 6.7 percent from December.


Numerous reports are indicating that the housing market stumbled rather severely in January, but the figures released today by HUD don't reflect that.

Sales of new single-family houses in January 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 0.2 percent (±22.2%)* below the revised December rate of 482,000, but is 5.3 percent (±22.1%)* above the January 2014 estimate of 457,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in January 2015 was $294,300; the average sales price was $348,300. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of January was 218,000. This represents a supply of 5.4 months at the current sales rate.

Overall, U.S. homebuilding slowed in January. Housing starts slipped 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.07 million last month, down from 1.09 million in December. Single-family starts dropped 6.7 percent for the month.

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