New Home Sales Plunge 14.5 Percent

So much for the idea that, after an unusually severe winter that kept home buyers away, the spring housing market data would show a larger than expected rebound.

The Commerce Department reported(.pdf) that new home sales plunged more than 14 percent in February, from an upwardly revised annual rate of 449,000 to just 384,000 in March, the lowest pace in eight months. This represents a year-over-year decline of 13.3 percent, consistent with the report on existing home sales as detailed here yesterday.

This item at Bloomberg indicated the March sales total was lower than even the most bearish forecast by economists they polled and it has rekindled the debate over how soft the U.S. housing market has become as a result of investors stepping back from record purchases in recent years after home prices and mortgage rates had both risen sharply.

The months-of-supply metric jumped from 5.0 to 6.0 and the median sales price of new houses sold in March was $290,000, representing a gain of 12.6 percent from a year ago, while the average sales price was $334,200, up 11.2 percent from last year at this time.