Home sales drop 11.8% in September
Decline was worst in Northeast, NAHB says
Sales of new single-family homes dropped 11.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted 468,000 annual rate, the NAHB said.
Citing the figures from Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, officials with the National Association of Home Builders said the numbers were not a cause for major concern.
"It is not surprising to see sales pull back in September following a strong August reading, especially after a few months of weak job creation," said association chief economist David Crowe. "However, new-home sales year to date are up 17.6 percent compared to the same period of 2014, and we expect the market to continue improving at a gradual but steady pace for the rest of year."
Sales fell 61.8 percent in the Northeast U.S., 8.3 percent in the Midwest, 8.7 percent in the South and 6.7 percent in the West, the NAHB said.
NAHB Chairman Tom Woods, a builder from Blue Springs, Missouri, said the report was no reason to panic.
"Despite this monthly drop, our members continue to tell us that housing is moving in the right direction," Woods said. "Consumers may have simply been reacting to soft job numbers."
There were an estimated 225,000 homes for sale in September, which represents a 5.8-month supply at current levels, NAHB said.
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