Business
U.S. New Home Sales Steady Near Multi-Year Highs; Supply Up
This Jan. 8, 2015 photo shows a home for sale in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
(Reuters) – New U.S. single-family home sales fell only slightly in January despite big declines in the snow-battered Northeast while supply rose to its highest level since 2010, hopeful signs for a sluggish housing market.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that sales dipped 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000 units. December’s sales pace was revised up to 482,000 units, the highest level since June 2008, from 481,000 units.
“We are still taking sort of a meandering, bumpy path towards recovery. We expect housing will improve later this year due to the improvement in the labor market and credit conditions,” said Stephanie Karol, a U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Sales were likely held back by snow storms in the Northeast, where sales recorded their biggest drop since June 2012.
