**MNI 5 Things: US New Home Sales Lower Than Expected>

By Holly Stokes and Sara Haire

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the 

January new residential sales data released Monday by the Commerce 

Department: 

     -January new home sales saw a 7.8% decrease to 593k SAAR, well 

below the 647k expected. In addition to declining over the month, new 

home sales saw a 1.0% decline year-over-year on a seasonally adjusted 

basis, a sharp downturn from the recent upward trend. New homes sold on 

a year-over-year basis unadjusted saw a decline of 2.2%.  

     -The median new home sales price fell 4.1% to $323,000. The average 

sales price fell 3.0% to $382,700. 

     -Sales were mixed within the regions. Sales saw a large 33.3% 

decline in the Northeast and a 14.2% decrease in the large South region. 

The 15.4% gain in the Midwest and the 1.0% rise in the West were unable 

to offset the declines seen in the other regions. 

     - October, November, and December new home sales all saw upward 

revisions. November was revised up to 696k from the already strong 689k, 

while December was revised to 643k, up from 625k. These revised gains 

help explain how January sales fell so short of expectations.  

     -New homes for sale at the end of the period saw a 2.4% increase to 

301k, making it the highest level seen since March 2009. Due to the 

increase in homes for sale and the decline in houses sold, the months' 

supply on the market saw a 10.9% rise to 6.1 months, the highest level 

since July 2014. 

           ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]