Sales of US new one-family houses in October 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 5.3 percent below the revised September of 457,000 and is 40.1 percent below the October 2007 estimate of 723,000 and the lowest since January 1991.
The US population in 1991 was 252 million compared with 306 million today.
The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2008 was $218,000; the average sales price was $272,300.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October was 381,000. This represents a supply of 11.1 months at the current sales rate.
Also today, besides dat on consumer spending, durable goods and jobless claims - - see Related below - - a report showed that confidence among US consumers fell more than forecast in November, a signal that household spending may continue weakening into the holiday shopping season that begins with Thanksgiving Day on Thursday. The Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment fell to 55.3 from 57.6 in October. The measure averaged 85.6 in 2007.
