US New Home Sales: Modest slide in February, median price up - Wells Fargo

New home sales dropped 0.6% in February. Analysts at Wells Fargo highlighted that sales for January were revised up and sales are about where they were expected to be for the month.

Key Quotes: 

“New home sales fell 0.6 percent in February but still came in close to the consensus estimate of a 620,000-unit annual pace. Sales for January were revised up from a 593,000 to a 622,000-unit pace. On a year-to-date basis, new home sales are running 2.2 percent ahead of their year-ago pace.”

“The supply of homes for sale at the end of February rose to 305,000 units, which is the most since March 2009. All of the increase came from homes not yet started or under construction.”

“The median price of a new home rose 0.6 percent to $326,800 and is up 9.7 percent year over year. We do not expect that pace to be maintained, particularly given the rise in inventory in the South.”