More new residential properties were sold during 2014 than in any year since the financial crisis. It was a similar story for monthly activity.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new single-family home sales during the final month of last year was 481,000.
Turns out that December’s rate was higher than in any other month since June 2008, when the seasonally adjusted rate was 487,000.
The Census Bureau, which jointly reported the data with the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
said the rate was a revised 431,000 in November. The prior-month rate was originally reported at 438,000.
Housing activity also improved from December 2013, when the rate was an estimated 442,000.
From Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 31, 2014,
an estimated 435,000 new homes were sold, rising from 429,000 in 2013.
The last time new home sales were this strong was in 2008, when there were 485,000 properties sold.
December’s median sales prices for new residences was $298,100,
while the average sales price was $377,800.
As of the end of last year, the
seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 219,000.
The year-end inventory puts the supply at 5.5 months.
