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To: Softechie who wrote (1909)	2/27/2002 3:30:42 PM
From: Softechie	Respond to of 2155

Data Snap: January New Home Sales Plummet 27 Feb 10:00 =========================================================== New Home Sales Jan Dec !Surprise:Yes ! Overall Sales: 823K 966Kr !Trend:Likely ! Percentage Change: -14.8% 3.0%r ! Abberation ! Months' Supply: 4.6 3.8r !Consens. 950K ! =========================================================== By Jennifer Corbett Dooren Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Sales of new, single-family homes fell sharply in January. New home sales fell 14.8% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 823,000, which the lowest level since June 2000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The drop in home sales was unexpected and was the largest percentage drop since a 23.6% decline in January 1994. A Dow Jones Newswires-CNBC survey of economists predicted that home sales would rise 0.4% to an annual rate of 950,000. However, some analysts predicted new home sales would fall on technical issues related to the seasonal adjustment factor the Commerce Department used to calculate the figures. The Commerce Department provided no explanation for the drop other than to "be mindful of the seasonal adjustment factor." December new home sales were revised to a 3.0% rise to a 966,000 annual rate and November sales were revised sharply up as 9.1% gain to a 938,000 annual rate. December was previously reported as a 5.7% gain to a 946,000 annual rate while November was last reported as a 5.2% rise to a 895,000 annual rate. While the U.S. economy has been in a recession since last March, the housing sector has remained remarkably strong even though the new home sales report suggests otherwise. Earlier this week, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes rose 16.2% to a record 6.04 million annual rate in January. Mortgage rates have remained at historically low levels and much of the country has experienced unseasonally warm weather the past few months, helping to boost home sales. The national average for 30-year fixed rate mortgages last week was 6.81%, according to Freddie Mac. The new home sales report showed that sales rose by 9.0% in the Northeast. Sales fell by 0.6% in the Midwest, plummeted 22.1% in the South and decreased 17.0% in the West. The supply of homes on the market rose to 4.6 in January from a revised 3.8 months' supply in December. The median price for a new home, the mid-point of all prices was $183,400 in January, up from the $173,500 median recorded in December. The average price for a new home was $226,100 in January, down from a record $228,000 in December. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were down by 12.3% in January. By Jennifer Corbett Dooren; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9294; jennifer.corbett@dowjones.com (END) DOW JONES NEWS 02-27-02 10:00 AM