John SkinnerSales of newly built homes climbed 7.9% from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 421,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That rate is a 12.6% increase from August 2012.
Amid the housing recovery, developers this year have increased construction of new homes, but the pace has yet to return to historically normal levels. Builders cite the lack of suitable building lots and tough access to credit among their concerns.
Builders also said that some buyers had pulled back on new home purchases recently because of higher mortgage interest rates, which have risen more than one percentage point since early May.
Sales of newly constructed homes rose in all regions expect the West, where sales dropped 14.6% from July.
The median sale price for a new home in August was $254,600 nationally and there was a five-month supply of homes for sale at the current sales pace.
(Source: LA Times)
