New home sales slip 'unexpectedly' in February 2012 along with home re-sales and housing starts

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"Inventory of new homes is at record low."

3/23/12, "New Home Sales Unexpectedly Slip 1.6% in February," Reuters, CNBC

"The Commerce Department said on Friday sales slipped 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted 313,000-unit annual rate. January's sales pace was revised down to 318,000 units from the previously reported 321,000 units....

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 325,000-unit rate in February. Compared to February last year, new home sales were up 11.4 percent.

The median price for a new home rose 8.3 percent to $233,700, the highest level since June. Compared to February last year, the median price was up 6.2 percent.

The report, which rounded off a week of mixed housing data, followed a similar pattern seen in the market for used homes. Home resales fell in February, but prices rose from a year earlier. Housing starts slipped, while permits for home building approached a 3-1/2 year high in February.

The housing market continues to be hobbled by an oversupply of used homes on the market - especially from foreclosures, many of which sell well below their market value.

The inventory of new homes on the market was unchanged at a record low 150,000 units last month. At February's sales pace it would take 5.8 months to clear the houses from the market, up from 5.7 months in January."...via Instapundit

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