Sales of new homes plummeted to a record low in December, the Commerce Department estimated Thursday.
Sales fell 14.7% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 331,000. This is the lowest level since the series began in 1963.
Sales were weaker than the 390,000 annualized pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See Economic Calendar. In addition, sales in November were much lower.
Earlier this week, the National Association of Realtors reported a pickup in existing home sales in December.
The government estimates that 482,000 new homes were sold in 2008. This is 37.9% below the 776,000 homes sold in 2007, a record decline.
Inventories of unsold homes have fallen every month this year, and fell 10% in December. But because of the slow sales pace, the inventory represented 12.9 months supply, up from 12.5 months in November.
The median sales price in December was $206,500, down 9.3% compared with a year earlier. The median sales price can be affected by the mix of homes sold from region to region and among different price points.
Most economists expect home sales to fall further, at least temporarily, because of the credit crunch.
The government cautions that its housing data are subject to large sampling and other statistical errors. Large revisions are common. The standard error of 12% is so high, in fact, that the government cannot be sure in most months whether sales rose or fell.
Sales are reported when a contract is signed, not at the closing of the sale. Home builders have reported a large increase in cancellations in recent months. Cancellations are not reflected in the government data, so the reported sales are likely overstated.
In a separate report, the Commerce Department reported orders for durable goods fell 2.6% in December. See full story.
The government also reported that jobless claims rose slightly in the latest week and the number of workers collecting unemployment hit a record high.
