The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: Home Sales Soar to Record Level

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Home Sales Soar to Record Level

Sales of new homes surged in April by the biggest amount in 14 years, but the median price of a new home dropped by the largest amount on record. The mixed signals left no clear picture of whether the worst of the nation's housing slump is over.

The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes jumped by 16.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 981,000 units. That was far better than the tiny 0.2 percent gain that economists had been expecting.

However, the median price of a new home sold last month fell to $229,100, a record 11.1 percent decline from the previous month. The big price decline indicated that builders are slashing prices in an effort to move a huge overhang of unsold homes.

The jump in sales was the biggest increase since a 16.4 percent surge in new home sales that occurred in April 1993.

The strength in sales was led by a 27.8 percent surge in the South. Sales were also up in the West by 8.5 percent and in the Northeast, where they rose 3.8 percent.

In other economic news, the Commerce Department said that orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods posted a moderate 0.6 percent increase in April, helped by a continued rebound in business investment.

While the increase in orders for durable goods was less than had been expected, the government sharply revised the March performance to show a 5 percent surge, much stronger than the 3.7 percent gain previously reported.

Talk Show America 5/25/2007

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