U.S.

Census Bureau News

Joint Release
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, D.C. 20233

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2010 AT 10:00 A.M. EST
CB10-192
Erica Filipek or Stephen Cooper
Manufacturing and Construction Division
(301) 763-5160

NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES IN NOVEMBER 2010

Sales of new single-family houses in November 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 290,000, according to
estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This is 5.5 percent (±16.2%)* above the revised October rate of 275,000, but is 21.2 percent (±13.3%) below the
November 2009 estimate of 368,000.
,

The median sales price of new houses sold in November 2010 was $213,000; the average sales price was $268,700. The
seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of November was 197,000. This represents a supply of 8.2
months at the current sales rate.

New Residential Sales data for December 2010 will be released on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, at 10:00 A.M. EST.
Our Internet site is: http://www.census.gov/newhomesales
http://www.census.gov/newhomesales

EXPLANATORY NOTES

These statistics are estimated from sample surveys. They are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling error including bias and variance from response,
nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimated average relative standard errors of the preliminary data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as “2.5
percent (±3.2%) above” appears in the text, this indicates the range (-0.7 to +5.7 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All ranges
given for percent changes are 90-percent confidence intervals and account only for sampling variability. If a range does not contain zero, the change is statistically
significant. If it does contain zero, the change is not statistically significant; that is, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease. The same policies apply
to the confidence intervals for percent changes shown in the tables. Changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show irregular movement. It takes 4 months to
establish a trend for new houses sold. Preliminary new home sales figures are subject to revision due to the survey methodology and definitions used. The survey is
primarily based on a sample of houses selected from building permits. Since a “sale” is defined as a deposit taken or sales agreement signed, this can occur prior to a
permit being issued. An estimate of these prior sales is included in the sales figure. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimate of total sales is revised
about 7 percent. Changes in sales price data reflect changes in the distribution of houses by region, size, etc., as well as changes in the prices of houses with identical
characteristics. Explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability can be found on our web site listed above.

* 90% confidence
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Table 1. New Houses Sold and For Sale
[Thousands of houses. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.]

Sold during period1 For sale at end of period Median Average

Months'
Period United North- Mid- United North- Mid- sales sales
States east west South West States east west South West Supply2
price ($) price ($)
Seasonally adjusted

2009: November 368 31 71 189 77 236 7.7

December 356 38 51 184 83 231 7.8

2010: January 349 42 55 174 78 232 8.0

February 347 30 49 180 88 232 8.0
March 384 33 53 206 92 228 7.1

April 414 36 56 213 109 216 6.3

May 282 28 39 152 63 216 9.2
June 310 34 46 174 56 211 8.2

July 283 30 43 166 44 210 8.9

August (r) 274 29 31 149 65 207 9.1
September (r) 308 33 48 160 67 203 7.9

October (r) 275 30 38 156 51 201 8.8

November (p) 290 22 33 165 70 197 8.2

Average RSE (%)3 8 24 24 12 16 4 8

Percent Change:

November 2010 from October 2010 5.5% -26.7% -13.2% 5.8% 37.3% -2.0% -6.8%
90% Confidence Interval 4 ± 16.2 ± 30.8 ± 28.3 ± 22.6 ± 34.5 ± 1.0 ± 18.3

November 2010 from November 2009 -21.2% -29.0% -53.5% -12.7% -9.1% -16.5% 6.5%
90% Confidence Interval 4 ± 13.3 ± 42.1 ± 20.0 ± 19.5 ± 19.2 ± 3.7 ± 17.5

Not seasonally adjusted

2008: 485 35 70 266 114 352 37 57 175 83 (X) 232,100 292,600

2009: 375 31 54 202 87 232 27 38 118 48 (X) 216,700 270,900

RSE (%) 3 10 15 4 6 3 12 10 4 8 (X) 3 3

2009: Year to Date 350 28 50 189 82 (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)
2010: Year to Date 299 29 42 161 67 (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)

RSE (%) 3 8 14 6 5 (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)

5
Year to Date Percent Change -14.7% 2.5% -17.5% -15.0% -18.2% (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)
4
90% Confidence Interval ± 4.3 ± 10.3 ± 11.3 ± 5.8 ± 5.5 (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X)

2009: November 26 2 5 14 5 235 27 39 120 48 9.0 218,800 274,700

December 24 3 3 13 5 232 27 38 118 48 9.6 222,600 278,300

2010: January 24 3 4 12 5 231 26 37 119 48 9.7 218,200 283,400

February 27 2 4 13 7 229 26 36 119 47 8.6 221,900 284,100
March 36 3 5 19 9 227 25 36 118 47 6.3 224,800 262,900

April 41 4 5 21 10 216 24 35 113 45 5.3 208,300 270,500

May 26 3 4 14 6 215 24 34 114 44 8.3 230,500 281,100
June 28 3 4 16 5 213 24 32 111 45 7.5 219,500 256,700

July 26 3 4 16 4 210 24 31 109 46 7.9 212,100 252,100

August (r) 23 3 3 12 6 209 23 31 108 46 8.9 226,600 268,800
September (r) 24 3 4 12 6 204 22 29 109 44 8.4 229,300 270,500

October (r) 22 3 3 12 4 201 22 29 105 45 9.1 197,200 248,700

November (p) 21 2 2 12 5 197 22 29 103 43 9.4 213,000 268,700

Average RSE (%)3 8 24 24 12 16 4 12 13 5 5 8 5 4

(p) Prelminary. (r) Revised. RSE Relative standard error. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 500 units or less than 0.5 percent.

1 2 3
Seasonally adjusted houses sold are published at annual rates. Ratio of houses for sale to houses sold. Average RSE for the latest 6-month period.
4
See the Explanatory Notes in the accompanying text for an explanation of 90% confidence intervals. 5 Computed using unrounded data.

Note: The sales price includes the land.

Table 2. New Houses Sold, by Sales Price
[Thousands of houses. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.]

Under $150,000 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000

Period Total
$150,000 to $199,999 to $299,999 to $399,999 to $499,999 to $749,999 and over
1
Number of houses

2008: 485 77 106 149 69 35 31 18

2009: 374 66 96 114 46 23 20 10

RSE (%) 3 10 7 5 7 10 11 17

2009: November 26 5 7 8 3 2 1 1
December 24 5 5 7 3 1 2 1

2010: January 24 5 5 6 3 1 2 1
February 27 6 6 9 3 1 2 1
March 36 6 9 11 5 3 1 (Z)

April 41 7 12 12 5 2 2 1
May 26 4 7 7 3 2 1 1
June 28 5 7 9 5 1 1 (Z)

July 26 4 8 9 3 1 1 (Z)
August (r) 23 4 6 7 3 2 1 1
September (r) 24 4 5 8 3 1 1 1

October (r) 22 5 6 6 3 1 1 (Z)

November (p) 21 4 6 6 3 1 1 (Z)

2
Average RSE (%) 8 18 16 14 18 29 36 51

Percent distribution

2008: 100 16 22 31 14 7 6 4
2009: 100 18 26 30 12 6 5 3

2009: November 100 18 26 31 12 6 3 4

December 100 19 23 30 13 4 7 5

2010: January 100 21 21 27 15 6 7 4

February 100 21 21 33 11 5 6 4
March 100 18 25 31 13 8 4 1

April 100 17 29 28 12 5 6 3
May 100 16 25 29 13 8 5 4
June 100 17 23 31 18 5 5 1

July 100 15 29 35 11 4 5 2
August (r) 100 16 27 31 11 7 6 3
September (r) 100 17 22 34 14 6 5 2

October (r) 100 22 29 26 11 6 5 2

November (p) 100 17 27 27 15 6 6 2

(p) Prelminary. (r) Revised. RSE Relative standard error. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 500 units or less than 0.5 percent.

1
Houses for which sales price was not reported have been distributed proportionally to those for which sales price was reported
2
Average RSE for the latest 6-month period.

Note: The sales price includes the land.

Table 3. New Houses Sold and For Sale by Stage of Construction and Median Number of Months on Sales Market
[Thousands of houses. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.]

Sold during period For sale at end of period Median

Period Not Under Not Under months
Total started construction Completed Total started construction Completed for sale1

2008: 485 104 134 247 352 41 139 172 9.2

2009: 375 82 107 186 232 31 101 100 14.0

RSE (%) 3 7 5 5 3 7 5 5 5

2009: November 26 6 8 12 235 28 105 101 13.9

December 24 6 7 11 232 31 101 100 14.0

2010: January 24 7 7 9 231 30 101 99 13.9

February 27 7 9 11 229 29 103 96 14.3
March 36 8 14 14 227 30 104 92 14.4

April 41 7 15 19 216 29 101 86 14.0

May 26 5 8 13 215 28 103 85 14.0
June 28 5 9 14 213 28 102 83 12.3

July 26 6 8 13 210 27 102 81 11.2

August (r) 23 5 8 11 209 27 97 84 10.1
September (r) 24 5 8 12 204 27 93 84 8.8

October (r) 22 4 7 12 201 27 89 85 8.1

November (p) 21 5 5 11 197 28 86 83 8.2

2
Average RSE (%) 8 9 11 10 4 9 6 6 13

(p) Prelminary. (r) Revised. RSE Relative standard error. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 500 units or less than 0.5 percent.

1
Median number of months for sale since completion.
2
Average RSE for the latest 6-month period.