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New Home Sales at Highest Level in Seven Years

  • March 24, 2015

by Lark Turner

New Home Sales at Highest Level in Seven Years: Figure 1
New construction in Logan Circle that sold in February.

New home sales reached their highest level in seven years in February, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, hitting an annual rate of 539,000. That’s up from 500,000 in January and represents growth of nearly 25 percent over last February’s figure of 432,000.

New home builders told The Wall Street Journal that the uptick was likely related to buyers who were increasingly financially secure as well as persisting low interest rates.

“There’s evidence that buyers who had been forestalling or delaying their decision are now comfortable enough to buy,” John Johnson, who heads David Weekley Homes, told WSJ. “And there’s some awareness that interest rates aren’t going to stay down forever.”

But despite population gains, the rates aren’t in line with pre-housing boom figures, CNBC notes. In 2000, homes were being built at a pace of 880,000 annually. Noting that, CNBC attributed the increasing figures to healthy demand rather than a market for increased supply.

See other articles related to: us census, new home sales, hud

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/new_home_sales_at_highest_level_in_seven_years/9680

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