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2011 New Home Sales at Record Low

Fri Jan 27, 2012 on Blog

Proof that the housing market is far from recovered, numbers released by the Commerce Department this week show new home sales at a record low for the sixth straight year.

In 2011, the non-seasonally adjusted sales for were 302,000, down from 323,000 in 2010.

The last time sales didn’t drop was 2005, when we saw 1.2 million sales.

According to the Commerce Department, the sales were the lowest since they began taking measurements in 1963.

Economists said 2011’s sales were below half of what they consider good for a healthy market, according to the Palm Beach Post.

The median sales price for new homes fell 12.8 percent, down to $210, 300
Florida, part of the 17 state southern region, saw the biggest drops at the end of the year, with December down 10 percent from the previous month, and 5 percent lower than December 2010.

The good news in Palm Beach County however, is that new housing starts were up 27% there,  the Post reported. Builders in that county told the post they were hopeful that construction would pick up.

In the last quarter of 2011, construction was up from the previous quarter, with 406 new houses being built, compared to 218.