New-Home Sales Fall to Low Last Seen in Early 1990s

New York Times (04/25/08); Grynbaum, Michael M.
The Commerce Department reports an 8.5 percent drop in new-home sales to an annual pace of 526,000 in March, with economists blaming the largest job cuts since the start of the year for the greater than expected decline. New-home sales have not seen such low levels since the 1990s housing recession, and the 11-month supply of unsold new homes marks a 27-year high. Regionally, new-home sales slipped 19.4 percent in the Northeast, 13 percent in both the West and Midwest and 5 percent in the South. During the year-over-year period ended in March, the median new-home price plunged 13.3 percent to $227,600. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department revised its February sales report, noting a decrease of 5.3 percent versus its original estimate of a 1.8 percent decline.