Growth nudges US house sales to 2008 levels
SALES of new homes in the US spiked despite the freezing temperatures in January, rising to the highest level since the summer of 2008, before the worst day of the financial crisis.
According to the US Census Bureau, 468,000 homes were sold last month, 19.7 per cent above December’s 427,000. Activity in the market is still very modest in comparison to levels recorded as recently as six and a half years ago: 930,000 homes changed hands in April 2007.
The median sales price of new houses sold in January was just above £260,000 (£164,240), rising from $251,500 in the same month last year.
After a run of weaker figures, low home sales have sparked concerns that the housing market might be slowing down, while severe winter weather has driven other economic indicators down. However, the figures for January will likely go some way to reverse that view.
“The strong rise in new home sales in January means that the recovery in housing market activity looks to be back on track,” said Paul Diggle of Capital Economics.