Sales of new homes increased by 6.4 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted rate of 433,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sales of existing homes also increased last month, but only by 1.3 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Put the two reports together, and it’s an encouraging sign that housing has shaken off its winter-induced doldrums. But sales of both new homes and existing homes were below what they were in April 2013.
Lawrence Young, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, expects total home sales for 2014 as a whole will be below what they were in 2013, primarily because of the “sluggish first quarter.”
The average price for a new house sold last month was $275,800, according to Census Bureau.
The median price for an existing home in April was $201,700, according to NAR.
Mortgage rates are trending down, but they’re still higher than were a year ago. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.14 percent with an average 0.6 point this week, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, the rate averaged 3.59 percent.
Source: Jacksonville Business Journal
