New single-family home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000 in July, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The July rate was 12.4% above the revised June rate of 582,000 and 31.3% above the July 2015 estimate.
Sales grew in most regions, rising 40.0% in the Northeast, 18.1% in the South, and 1.2% in the Mid-West. Sales were unchanged in the West.
The median price of a new home was $294,600, down 5.1% from June. The average price was $355,800, an increase of less than 1.0% from the previous month.
At the end of July there was an estimated supply of 4.3 months at the current sales rate, down from a 4.9 month supply in June.
Read the Census/HUD release.