New US Home Sales Rise to Its Highest Level in 14 Years

The US Commerce Department said today that US new home sales rose 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.011 million units in August, the highest level since September 2006.

Analysts had expected new home sales, which account for about 14% of housing market sales, to decline by 1% to an average of 895,000 units in August, and new home sales rose by 965,000 units in July.

The median new home price declined 4.3% to $ 312,800 in August compared to the same period last year, and there were 282,000 new homes on the market during August compared to 291,000 in July.